Prince Manvendra was raised with his sister in the lap of luxury. And although India is a democracy today, royal dynasties – the firmly conservative Gohils in particular – are still revered. By the time of the 33rd Gohil ruler, Maharana Verisalji II, in the 19th century, the dynasty was even standing up to the British. The princely state of Rajpipla was second only to nearby Baroda in terms of size and importance, and even saw off onslaughts from Baroda’s Gaekwar rulers.
Over the centuries, the prince’s Gohil ancestors faced invasions from sultans and emperors, and sometimes used guerilla tactics to defend their land. The Gohil Rajput dynasty from which Prince Manvendra descends can be traced right back to the sixth century, when Muhideosur Gohadit became chief of an area near modern Idar, in Gujarat, in 556.
Although Prince Manvendra’s family had to tighten their belts, they hardly starved they kept their royal palace – built in 1915 – and turned it into a tourist attraction, which allowed them to live well. Yet, to this day, honorary titles are used for princely descendants, many of whom carry out royal duties as if nothing had ever changed. Prince Manvendra was six when his father, then a maharaja, became a commoner. India ‘de-recognised’ its monarchy in 1971.
‘When the pandemic is over, you must come and stay here,’ he says firmly.
