The
Travancore Royal Family was the ruling house of the
Indian princely state of
Travancore. They lost their ruling rights in 1949 when Travancore merged with the
Indian Union and their
privileges were abolished by the Indian Union in 1971 by a constitutional amendment. The family descends from the ancient Ay/
Venad rulers and the
Cheras. A sister dynasty of theirs is the
Kolathiris (the
Mushika Dynasty and they both hold the distinction of being
Samantha Kshatriya). The Travancore Royalty could also "unofficially" be considered descendants of the
Pandya and
Chola dynasties, due to consistent intermarriages with the
Chera, Pandya, Chola and Kolathiri dynasties, over the centuries. In fact, only the Travancore and Kolathiri families are those surviving among the original royal
Velir Family's lineages, and are both descendants of the Ay/Venad Family, and related to the Cheras, Pandyas and Cholas. Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the chief family deity. The Royal family is alternatively known as the
Kupaka Swaroopam,
Thripappur Swaroopam,
Venad Swaroopam,
Vanchi Swaroopam etc. It has its seat today at
Thiruvananthapuram in
Kerala,
India. The last ruling
Maharajah of Travancore was Sree
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, died on 20 July 1991 after a stroke. Sree
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the younger brother of the last ruling monarch of the
Kingdom of Travancore,
Maharajah Chitra Thirunal Rama Varma, died at a private hospital in the early hours on 16 December 2013. He was succeeded by
Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, son of Maharani
Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi and Lt. Col.
G. V. Raja.