Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil. The first openly gay prince in the world and heir of the Maharaja of Rajpipla in Gujarat, India.
Prince Gohil runs a charity, The Lakshya Trust, which works with the LGBT community dealing with HIV/AIDS education and prevention. In 1971, the government of India through Amendment 26 ‘de-recognized’ Indian princes and Manvendra’s father thus lost the title ‘Maharaja’ along with its annual pension.
In 2006, the story of Manvendra’s coming out made headlines in India and around the world. His family accused him of bringing dishonor to the clan and repeatedly asked why publicity was necessary. Finally, after a lot of bitterness, Manvendra’s family disowned him.
Manvendra appeared as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007 and was presented Orphans International Worldwide’s 2010 Global Citizenship Award for Leadership In Helping Humanity in New York City (video). In 2018 Manvendra opened up his 15-acre palace grounds to help house vulnerable LGBT people who might otherwise be “left with nothing” when “their families disown them after coming out.”
See: The Gay Prince: Manvendra Singh Gohil of India (Aug. 26, 2011)
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