23-year-old US educated Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs was finally adopted as the titular head of the Mysore royal family, after the death of Srikantadatta Narisimharaja Wodeyar in 2013.
The Mysore palace was abuzz with activity as as preparations were underway for a royal adoption. Ending months of speculation, 23-year-old US educated Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs was finally adopted as the titular head of the Mysore royal family, after the death of Srikantadatta Narisimharaja Wodeyar in 2013. Following the ceremony the new heir took a ride on a silver chariot in the evening to greet well-wishers and members of the public.
As per tradition Pramodadevi pronounced the 'new' name in the ears of the heir who was sitting on her lap. Parents of the new heir- Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs and mother Tripura Sundari Devi - were among the 37 members of the royal family who witnessed the event along with Karnataka home minister K J George and housing minister Ambarish who were close friends of the late Srikantadatta Wodeyar. Yaduveer was pursuing a degree in economics at Umass Amherst in Boston Massachusetts in the USA when he was picked by has grand aunt to be the new symbolic king of Mysore.
Yaduveer is the grandnephew of Srikantadatta Wodeyar and Pramodadevi and the grandson of the Srikantadatta Wodeyar's eldest sister Gayathri Devi. He will now been known as Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar.
The coronation ceremony is expected to be held in May. Yaduveer is expected to play a traditional key role in the dasara procession that starts every year from the palace on vijayadashmi and winds through the streets of Mysore.
Yaduveer was chosen over Kantharaj Urs, who performed the last rites of the late Srikantadatta Narisimharaja Wadiyar. Many believe the new head will now have to fight a legal battle to secure the possession of ancestral property.