| Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maharajah of Travancore Head of the Travancore royal family | |||||||||
 Sree Padmanabhadasa Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma | |||||||||
| Reign | 16 December 2013 – present | ||||||||
| Coronation | 3 January 2014 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma | ||||||||
| Born | 12 June 1949 Thiruvananthapuram, Travancore-Cochin, Dominion of India (present-day Kerala, India) | ||||||||
| Spouse |
| ||||||||
| Issue | None | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | Kulasekhara | ||||||||
| Father | Lt. Col. Godavarma Raja of Kanjiramattom Palace, Poonjar | ||||||||
| Mother | Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore Royal Family | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Occupation | Managing Director of Aspinwall Ltd. and Hereditary Head Trustee of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple | ||||||||
Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (born 12 June 1949) is the current incumbent to the throne of Travancore.[2] He is the youngest of the four children of the former titular Maharani of Travancore, Sree Padmanabhasevini Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi and her husband, Prince Consort Lt. Col. G. V. Raja of Poonjar Royal House.
Rama Varma is the only nephew of the last reigning King of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma and succeeded the late titular Maharaja of Travancore, Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. He is the managing director of the family owned spice trading company, Aspinwall Ltd. As the head of the royal family, he along with his consort, moved to Thiruvananthapuram in 2013 and has settled down at Kowdiar Palace, in order to keep up with the ritual duties of being the custodian of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.[3][4][5]
- ^ According to an insider's account, as the current Maharaja is without issue and according to the matrilineal rules of descent in the family, the next in line of succession would be his nephews, the sons of the princesses of Travancore. Therefore, Maharaja Mulam Thirunal Ramavarma's nephews Prince Ravi, Prince Raghu and Prince Aditya are expected to be the successors from the Trivandrum branch of the family. Prince Balagopala and Prince Jay are the Elaya Rajas from the Bangalore line of the family New Light on Swathi Thirunal, Dr. R. P. Raja a nephew of Maharani Sethu Parvathi of Travancore, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies 2006
- ^ Makir, Haneef (17 December 2013). "'His Highness' isn't unconstitutional: Kerala High Court". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
Though by the 26th amendment to the Constitution, Article 363 was repealed whereby the rights and privileges of the rulers of Indian states were taken away, still the name and title of the rulers remained as such and unaffected in so far as names and titles were not contemplated as rights or privileges under the repealed Articles 291 and 362 of the Constitution.
- ^ "Moolam Thirunal anointed as head of Travancore royal house". Deccan Chronicle (published 3 January 2014). 4 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma is Travancore royal family head". The Hindu (published 4 January 2013). 3 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Royal descendants can keep temple full of riches, rules Indian Supreme Court". BBC News. 13 July 2020.