Manvendra Singh Gohil

Manvendra Kumar Singh Gohil is the world’s first and only openly gay man who is a prince. He came out as gay on March 14th, 2006 and his declaration was a trending news story worldwide. Prince Manvendra was born on September 23rd, 1965 in the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan. Born as a descendent of the royal Rajpipla family of Gujarat, he was the only boy child born to the Maharana of Rajpipla, Maharana Shri Raghubir Singhji Rajendrasinghji Sahib, and Maharani Rukmini Devi. He was raised in a traditional environment even after the princely families lost recognition as a result of socialism. He completed his higher secondary education from Bombay Scottish School, a private school in Mumbai. He graduated from Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics also in Mumbai. Manvendra felt something was different about him when he was 13 years old. He had decided to get married to Chandrika Kumari in 1991 seeking to resolve his unknown problems. On recognizing his sexual orientation, Manvendra was unsure himself about the chances of him being homosexual. On realizing this, Chandrika Kumari filed for a divorce only a year after their marriage.

Manvendra confessed that he felt guilty for ruining Chandrika’s life but that he was helpless as he wasn’t aware that he was gay then. In 2002, Manvendra consulted his doctor after a nervous breakdown and had decided to come out and make his sexuality an open truth. But his parents didn’t handle the reality well and was shaken to their cores. After coming out openly, he faced a lot of hate from villagers and family alike. Later he gained worldwide coverage and support poured in from different parts of the world. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show twice and won the love and respect of millions. He set up an NGO known as ‘Lakshya Trust’ chaired by the Prince himself that works for the benefit of the LGBT community and to prevent HIV/AIDS. The NGO received the Civil Society Award in the year 2006 for their work aimed at encouraging safe sex among homosexuals. Prince Manvendra is currently a social activist working to towards the uplifting of sexual minorities and gay rights in India and abroad.

He has organized several gay pride rallies in many cities worldwide.