The Royal Family

Information About the Royal Family of Jaffna

His Royal Highness Prince Remigius Kanagarajah’s parents were first cousins. The late Ilavarasan Thambirajah Mervin Anthony Kanagarajah and late Ilavarasi Maheswary Marina Antoinette Kanagarajah Nee Ilavarasi Maheswary Arasaratnam. Ilavarasan Thambirajah Mervin Anthony Kanagarajah was the Landed Proprietor of Ambagastenne Tea Estate in Pundaluoya. He also served in the Army with the Ceylon Royal Artillery during World War II. Prince Remigius Kanagarajah’s grandparents on his mother’s side were Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Arasaratnam, Chief Post Master of Point Pedro, Jaffna and he was also member of the Court Jury, and Ilavarasi Annamma Arasaratnam. The grandparents on his father’s side were Thiru Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai Thambirajah and Thirumathi Kolandavel Ponnambiki.

Ilavarasi Maheswary Marina Antoinette Kanagarajah is related to Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan (1851-1930), Sir Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner (1896-1960), Gate Mudaliyar Muthuthamby, Lanthar Selladurai (the first person to own a Horse Chariot in Nallur), Rev. Farther Jeevaratnam (Rector of St. Henry’s College in Ilavalai, Jaffna.) and T. Chinniah Yogakumaran (Superintendent of Police, SLPR).

Prince Remigius Kanagarajah has two sisters and two older brothers. Unfortunately his oldest brother died at a very young age. His two sisters and his older brother are married and settled with children. His two brothers–in–law and his sister–in–law are understanding towards the family and blend in very well. I can say that his family is a reliably happy family.

Great–Great–Grandfather on His Mother’s Side

Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali owned many lands and properties in Sri Lanka and in Manamadurai, which belongs to Sivaganga District of South India. He owned properties in Jaffna and he bought the entire Ambagastenne Tea Estate and surrounding lands in Pundaluoya. He built many temples in Pundaluoya. The answer to how Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali came to own so much lands in Pundaluoya is that his great-grandfather Veera Bahu being the grandson of King Cankili Cekaracacekaran (1616-1619) lived in Pundaluoya because he was in hiding from the Portuguese and Dutch during the colonial rule. In fact, Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali built the Heritage of Ambagastenne in Pundaluoya for his descendants, which also includes Prince Remigius Kanagarajah and his family. He also owned many other Tea Estates and lands in the outskirts of Pundaluoya. Actually it was he who developed Pundaluoya from the beginning. He owned a large Mansion in Pundaluoya and Manamadurai. Most of Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali’s relatives spent there last days in the Mansion in Manamadurai, India.

Great–Grandparents on His Mother’s Side

H.R.H. Prince Remigius Kanagarajah’s great–grandparents were born and brought up in “Cankili Thoppu” in Nallur, the Palace of the Kings of Jaffna. His great–grandfather Thambiah Cadiravel Mudali married Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Thambithurai, daughter of Mudaliyar Kanagaratnam Thambithurai. It was customary in royal families to keep the Royalty within the family they had royal intermarriages. Due to the situation that time Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel could not give birth to any children in the Palace, with the result seven children died at birth. Finally, they moved to Malaysia and lived in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. Their eighth child Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Arasaratnam was born in Malaysia and he had three younger brothers, Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Navaratnam Selvarajah, Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Nadarajah and Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Thambirajah were born in Malaysia.

Thambiah Cadiravel Mudali after retirement along with his wife Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel returned to Jaffna and they spent the rest of their life in a Mansion named “Pavala Vaasal” in Sangilithoppu-Chemmani Road, Nallur, Jaffna. Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel is the cousin of Sinnathamby, son of Villavarayar Sinnathamby Pulavar (1716-1760) of Nallur, Jaffna. His father Mudaliyar Villavarayar of Nallur was a descendant of King Cinkai Arya Cakravarti Pararacacekaran, from the Royal Family of Jaffna. Dr. Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan, (MP) (1906-1971), who was residing at his ancestral home in “Cankili Thoppu”, is also the nephew of Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel. Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan, son of Jebaratnam J. Hensman, he was Registrar of the University of Madras, India. Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan married Miss Retnavathi Senathiraja and they had five children. His oldest daughter Miss Mary Lakshmi Naganathan was the former Ambassador of Sri Lanka, and she served in many countries. His second daughter Anne Nirmala Naganathan married Chandrahasan Chelvanayagam, son of S. J. V. Chelvanayagam, QC. Rear Admiral Rajan Kadirgamar, MVO. SL Navy is another nephew of Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel.

Great–Grandparents on His Father’s Side

H.R.H. Prince Remigius Kanagarajah’s great–grandaunt Naachchiyaar Thambiah was born in Nallur, Jaffna. She was the daughter of Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali and younger sister of Thambiah Cadiravel Mudali. Naachchiyaar Thambiah married Zamindar Ramasamy Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai of Poompuhar, India. Another name of Poompuhar was Kaveripoompattinam, which belongs to Sirkali Taluk of Nagapattinam District. Poompuhar, once the biggest port on the east coast, was at its peak under the earlier Chola and Pandya Kings. The Kaveri, merging with the bellowing sea, was known as Puhar, but due to the exquisite beauty of the port town, it came to be called Poompuhar. The greatness of this city is brought out in some of the poems in Sangam Literature among the epics. Pillai was a Tamil title, which was given during the time of Chola and Pandya Kingdoms. Zamindar Ramasamy Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai built the Rasamma Temple near the Mansion in Pundaluoya, after the unfortunate death of his loving daughter Rasamma Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai. His eldest son Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai Thambirajah had his education at Trinity College in Kandy. He loved his wife Kolandavel Ponnambiki so much that he built a tomb right in front of the Mansion and laid her ashes in it. The tomb was designed by S. C. Thambirajah and it was built with such beauty and height that people could sight it from the next town and that is how they identified Pundaluoya. He built Hindu and Buddhist Temples and also donated lands to built temples. One of the Buddhist Temple still exists in Kadadorapitiya, Pundaluoya. Zamindar Ramasamy Sangaralingam Caruppiahpillai bought the entire village “Narikudi Grahamam”, which belongs to Virudhunagar District of South India. The last decade of his life, he spent in the Mansion in Manamadurai.