A Prince & A Gentleman

Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, scion of Udaipur’s House of Mewar, has more than his fair share of duties as a prince. Besides overseeing the family-run group of heritage hotels and dedicating himself to philanthropic causes, he is the torchbearer of a legacy that dates back to the eighth century. MARWAR talks to the royal hotelier and humanist about his childhood, his passions and the responsibilities he shoulders.

- Beverly Pereira

LAKSHYARAJ SINGH MEWAR UNDERSTANDS the adage ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ all too well. The only son of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, the 76th Custodian of the House of Mewar, he is the executive director of the HRH Group of Hotels that was established by his father. The family-owned group is reputed for perpetuating the rich legacy of Mewar that dates back to the eighth century and is India’s only chain of heritage palace-hotels and resorts under private ownership. Over the years, the group has sensitively restored and converted many of the palaces and sanctuary-resorts once owned by Lakshyaraj’s grandfather and Mewar patriarch, Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar, who was the 75th custodian in an unbroken chain of maharanas dating back to 734 AD, including iconic figures like Rana Kumbha, Rana Sangha and Rana Pratap. The group has also been at the forefront of making more than just a slice of Rajasthan’s history accessible to the public through the royal family of Mewar’s self-funded museums.

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