New maharajah of Indian state educated in Massachusetts; will palace intrigue shorten his reign?

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, a recent graduate of UMass Amherst - he studied English and economics - was coronated maharajah of Mysore today, giving him domain over some 1,500 acres in southern India.

But all is not well in the onetime kingdom of Mysore, where the young maharajah takes over from his uncle in a family dynasty that dates back to 1399.

As the BBC reports:

[H]e will also be inheriting a legal battle with the Karnataka government, which wants to take over the palace properties.

He is also likely to face a legal challenge from one of the late maharajah's nephews, Kantharaj Urs, who is upset that he was not chosen as successor.

The dispute over the inheritance is because the Wodeyar kings have never had children - legend has it that the dynasty has suffered from a 17th Century curse.

Wodeyar was also the former maharajah's nephew; his aunt formally adopted him after her husband's death so that the young man could become the next maharajah.

All of this could suggest why he never seems to smile, even while being coronated.

He's not the only Asian royal with Massachusetts ties.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand was born in Mount Auburn Hospital (while his father was a student at Harvard Medical School) - there's a small plaza in Harvard Square to commemorate that.

And Crown Princess Masako of Japan went to Belmont High School while her father taught international law at Harvard.