February 8, 2012 | Arts / Entertainment

Undercover gay prince looking for love

India's Crown Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla made headlines when in 2006 he announced that he was gay.

He was disowned and disinherited by his father (who, it should be noted, has since apologized to his son). He was burned in effigy by his countrymen. Many Indians demanded he lose his royal title.

"I knew that they would never accept me for who I truly am, but I also knew that I could no longer live a lie," he has said about his decision to be open about his sexuality. "I wanted to come out because I had gotten involved with activism and I felt it was no longer right to live in the closet. I came out as gay to a Gujarati daily because I wanted people to openly discuss homosexuality since it’s a hidden affair with a lot of stigma attached."

Now 47, Prince Manvendra is back in the spotlight. He is appearing in TLC’s new show Undercover Princes. In the four-part series, which started last night, he joins two other real-life princes who head to England, pose as commoners, and hope to find true love. 

Prince Manvendra pretended to be a cleaner for the show.

"It was a very challenging thing for me because I was supposed to do things which I don’t do normally back in India," he explained. "I mean something like clean the house or, you know, doing up the room or cleaning up the toilets — what they expected on the show. I had to keep telling myself again and again that I am undercover and not supposed to reveal my true identity."

Does he finally find love? You'll have to tune in to find out!

World’s First Openly Gay Royal Is on Fairy Tale Search for Love [The Advocate]