Radhikaraje Gaekwad, Maharani of the erstwhile princely state of Baroda, has stirred up a debate with her remarks on royal marriages. Gaekwad recently appeared on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast where she made the controversial remarks.
Asked if “royal people only get married to royals,” Radhikaraje Gaekwad of Baroda answered: “I think, preferably. I would say families would want their children to get married in their type of families. An arranged marriage, basically.”
“In traditional communities, if you are a Gujarati, you marry a Gujarati. This is how it is,” she added.
The Maharani of Baroda added, however, that marriages with outsiders are very common. Non-royals are also readily accepted into royal families, she clarified.
Marriage to royals, she said, is a matter of preference “like in all orthodox Indian families.”
However, asked if royals find it difficult to adapt after marriage to non-royals, Gaekwad answered: “To tell you the truth, it is difficult. We have grown up in palaces. You get used to the love and respect you get from people. Or how you treat each other. That may be tough to find outside of royalty.
“Sometimes these are non-issues to begin with, but I have seen these develop into issues in the long run,” she explained. “You get married. You are very happy because as an individual you love this person, you don’t care about status. Very good. But sometimes these traditions are so deeply entrenched in us that when we stray, we feel that we have strayed from our sense of self, our identity.”
{{/usCountry}}“Sometimes these are non-issues to begin with, but I have seen these develop into issues in the long run,” she explained. “You get married. You are very happy because as an individual you love this person, you don’t care about status. Very good. But sometimes these traditions are so deeply entrenched in us that when we stray, we feel that we have strayed from our sense of self, our identity.”
{{/usCountry}}Take a look at a snippet from the podcast below:
Social media reactions
Reactions to Gaekwad’s remarks on royal marriages ranged from supportive to dismissive to angry.
“Royalty was what brought the British to India because of their wealthy greed. While they enjoyed, the poor fought on streets to free themselves from tyranny of the British. Stop glorifying them,” wrote one person in the comments section on Instagram.
“She spoke the truth! It's not only royal even in normal community we feel same,” another countered.
“She is correct. Add financial angle also,” a third Instagram user agreed.
“Ex Royals you mean... they don't have a kingdom,” a person pointed out.
Radikaraje was born into the princely family of Wankaner, Gujarat. She married Samarjitsinh Gaekwad of Baroda.