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Outlook: Coming out as India’s first gay prince

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Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil adjusts his clothes while looking in the mirror

18/05/2022 GMT

Coming out as India’s first gay prince

BBC World Service - Outlook, Coming out as India’s first gay prince

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, heir to a royal dynasty, risked it all to be his true self

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil - heir to a royal dynasty in India - risked everything to find his true self and face his parents and society as the first openly gay prince.

Manvendra Singh Gohil - a real life prince and next in line to a centuries-old royal dynasty in the Indian state of Gujarat - grew up in the 1970s in a gilded cage. His family's desire to keep his blue blood away from ‘commoners’ meant that, growing up, he missed out on formative experiences like making friends. After a failed marriage to a princess, Manvendra finally shed his royal cocoon and was determined to break out and explore the world, and his sexuality. With the help of his new friend Ashok, a gay rights activist, the prince began a process of self-acceptance that would be put to the ultimate test. 

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Fiona Woods and Edgar Maddicott

(Photo: Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil in 2010. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/AIDES & Link/Getty Images)

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