Undercover Princes and Princesses
TLC features Prince Manvendra of Rajpipla, the first Indian royal to come out openly in the all-new series
UNDERCOVER PRINCES premiering tonight at 10/9c.
This four part series features Prince Manvendra who in 1991 married
Princess
Yuvrani Chandrika Kumari from Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, because, he
claims, “I thought after marriage I will be alright because I never knew
and nobody told me that
I was gay and [that] this is normal. Homosexuality is not a disease. I
tremendously regret for ruining her life. I feel guilty”. The marriage
ended in
divorce
when Manvendra revealed his homosexuality to his wife.
In March of 2006, the story of Manavendra’s coming out made headlines in India and around the world. Effigies of the Prince were burnt in Rajpipla, and demands were made to strip him of his title. He expressed that he has no regrets about coming out, and that he believes the people of his state respect him for his leadership in educating on HIV/AIDS. As of 2008, he is the only known person of royal lineage to have publicly come out as gay.
UNDERCOVER PRINCES goes beyond a dating show and takes you into the realm of true docu-reality as the cameras capture what happens when three real life royals are forced to ditch their fleets of servants, live together and search for love as “undercovers.” It is really quite fascinating as they struggle to participate in simple tasks such as working an everyday job or cooking dinner.
The series follows single princes and single princesses from
around the world who go undercover in the UK in pursuit of true love,
according to a TLC press release. They hit up bars and clubs and try
online dating sites and even speed dating in search of their perfect
match to take back to their respective kingdoms.
“Undercover Princes” and “Undercover Princesses” will each air four
episodes, followed by a one-hour update special scheduled to air on
Tues., Mar. 27.
“Undercover Princes” premieres Tues., Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. EST on
TLC and “Undercover Princesses,” premieres Tues., Feb. 28 at 10 p.m. EST
on TLC.
