VirgieSalter103 at 11:40, 12 April 2026

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{{short description|Maharaja of Sirmur}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Lakshraj Prakash
| title = [[Maharaja]]
| image =
| succession = [[Maharaja]] of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]]
| reign = 15 May 2013{{sndash}}present
| coronation = 15 May 2013
| predecessor = [[Rajendra Prakash]]
| birth_name = Lakshraj Singh
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2004|03|24|df=y}}
| house = [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]]
| father = Narendra Singh
| mother = [[Diya Kumari]]
| dynasty = {{unbulleted list|
[[Bhati]] (by adoption)|
[[Kachwaha]] (by birth)
}}
| module = {{infobox person | embed=yes
| education = {{plain list|
* [[Mayo College]]
* [[Millfield]]
* [[Queen Mary University of London]]
}}
}}
}}
'''Lakshraj Prakash''' ({{langx|hi|लक्षराज प्रकाश}}; born 24 March 2004) has been the head of the [[Royal House]] of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]] since 2013.

== Early life, education, and family ==
Lakshraj Prakash was born on 24 March 2004 as the younger child of Narendra Singh and his wife, [[Diya Kumari]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Soszynski |first=Henry |title=JAIPUR |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/j/jaipur.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504002808/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/j/jaipur.html |archive-date=4 May 2017 |access-date=26 July 2025 |website=members.iinet.net.au}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=Royal |date=26 July 2025 |title=Sirmur (Princely State) |url=https://oroyalarchives.com/sirmur/ |access-date=26 July 2025 |website=Royal Archives |language=en-US}}</ref> His mother is the only daughter of [[Bhawani Singh]] and [[Padmini Devi]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Taknet |first1=D. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5tCeDAAAQBAJ |title=Jaipur: Gem of India |last2=IntegralDMS |date=7 July 2016 |publisher=IntegralDMS |isbn=978-1-942322-05-4 |pages=184–185 |language=en}}</ref> Lakshraj has an elder brother [[Padmanabh Singh]] and an elder sister [[Gauravi Kumari]].<ref name=":0" /> Lakshraj was educated at [[Private school|private schools]], beginning at [[Mayo College]] in [[Ajmer]] and continuing at [[Millfield]] in [[Street, Somerset|Street]], [[Somerset]].<ref name=":1" /> In 2023 Lakshraj enrolled at the [[Queen Mary University of London]] in [[England]].<ref name=":1" />

In November 2022, he attended the [[Bal des débutantes|Le Bal des débutantes]] in [[Paris]] with [[Leah Isadora Behn|Leah Behn]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sigvaldsen |first=Bent Are |date=2022-12-06 |title=På innsiden av elite-ballet |url=https://www.seher.no/kongelig/pa-innsiden-av-elite-ballet/77953397 |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Se og Hør |language=nb-NO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=le Bal 2022 |url=https://www.lebal.paris/editions/le-bal-des-debutantes-2022/ |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Le Bal {{!}} Le Bal des Debutantes Paris |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Succession ==
Upon the death of [[Rajendra Prakash]] on 13 November 1964, the title, rank, and dignity of the [[Maharaja]] of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]] lapsed, as he left no male heir.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Soszynski |first=Henry |title=SIRMUR |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/s/sirmur.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416155510/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/s/sirmur.html |archive-date=2017-04-16 |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=members.iinet.net.au}}</ref> He was married to two consorts: Durga Devi and Indira Devi.<ref name=":2" /> With Durga Devi, he had a daughter, Nalini Devi; with Indira Devi, he had another daughter, [[Padmini Devi]].<ref name=":2" /> Durga Devi adopted her maternal grandson, Udai Singh, as the successor to her late husband.<ref name=":2" /> This adoption, and the succession it implied, was neither recognised by the [[Government of India]] nor accepted by the wider royal family or clan.<ref name=":1" />

Approximately forty-nine years after the death of [[Rajendra Prakash]], members of the royal family of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]], along with senior nobles of the former state, assembed in [[Jaipur]] on 17 March 2014.<ref name=":1" /> There, they approached [[Padmini Devi]] and requested that her maternal grandson, Lakshraj Prakash, be sent to [[Sirmaur district|Sirmur]] to assume the throne, which had remained unoccupied since the death of her father.<ref name=":1" /> With the consent of both [[Padmini Devi]] and the parents of Lakshraj Prakash, he was formally inducted into the Atri gotra of the royal house on 13 April 2013.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-01-10 |title=Dimple Kapadia at the coronation ceremony of Maharaja of Sirmaur at the Nahan Palace in Himachal Pradesh |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/mumbai/dimple-kapadia-at-a-royal-event/articleshow/20086693.cms |access-date=2025-07-26 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

He ascended the throne of [[Sirmur State|Sirmur]] at the Palace in [[Nahan]] following his ''raj tilak'' ({{Translation|[[Coronation]]}}) on 15 May 2013.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2013-05-15 |title=9-year-old Jaipur prince becomes Maharaja of Sirmaur |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/9-year-old-jaipur-prince-becomes-maharaja-of-sirmaur-163173-2013-05-14 |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> On this occasion, Ajay Bahadur Singh presented him with the sword of [[Guru Gobind Singh]], which had originally been given by the Guru to the ancestors of the royal family.<ref name=":3" /> As was a minor at the time, Ajay Bahadur Singh was appointed [[regent]] until he attained the age of majority.<ref name=":1" /> His title holds no official status under Indian law, as the [[Twenty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India|Twenty-Sixth Amendment]] to the [[Constitution of India]] abolished the formal recognition of royal titles, privileges, and associated entitlements previously granted to the rulers of [[Princely state|princely states]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parliament of India |url=http://archive.org/details/E13841971009161722 |title=The Constitution of India (26th Amendment) Act 1971 |date=1971 |pages=813–814}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prakash, Lakshraj}}
[[Category:2004 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Mayo College alumni]]
[[Category:People educated at Millfield]]
[[Category:People from Jaipur]]
[[Category:People from Sirmaur district]]
[[Category:Alumni of Queen Mary University of London]]

Lakshraj Prakash - Revision history

VirgieSalter103 at 11:40, 12 April 2026