The Royal Family

Information About the Royal Family of Jaffna

His Royal Highness Prince Remigius Kanagarajah’s parents were the late Ilavarasi Maheswary Marina Antoinette Kanagarajah Nee Ilavarasi Maheswary Arasaratnam, daughter of Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Arasaratnam, Chief Post Master of Point Pedro, Jaffna and the late Ilavarasan Thambirajah Mervin Anthony Kanagarajah, son of Sangaralingam Caruppiah Pillai Thambirajah. Ilavarasan Thambirajah Mervin Anthony Kanagarajah was the Landed Proprietor of Ambagastenne Tea Estate in Punduloya. He also served in the Army with the Ceylon Royal Artillery during World War II. 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 India. He owned properties in Jaffna and he bought the entire Ambagastenne Tea Estate and surrounding lands in Punduloya. He built many temples in Punduloya. The answer to how Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali came to own so much lands in Punduloya is that his ascendant Veera Bahu being a descendant of the Royal Family of Jaffna lived in Punduloya because he was in hiding from the Portuguese and Dutch during the colonial rule. In fact, Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali built the Heritage of Ambagastenne Tea Estate 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 Punduloya. Actually it was he who developed Punduloya from the beginning. He also owned lands in Manamadurai, which belongs to Sivaganga District of South India. He owned a large Mansion in Punduloya and Manamadurai. Most of Vedanayagam Thambiah Mudali’s relatives spent there last days in the Mansion in Manamadurai.

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. Because they wanted to keep the Royalty within the family in those days, they had intermarriages. Due to personal reasons known only to the family, Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel could not give birth to any children in the Palace, with the result seven children died at birth. Finally, her eighth child Ilavarasan Thambiah Cadiravel Arasaratnam was born in Malaysia. In the end, Mudaliyar Kanagaratnam Thambithurai and Thambiah Cadiravel Mudali along with other members of the family handed over the Palace to the famous Nallur Kandasamy Temple in Jaffna. After the Palace was handed over to the temple, Thambiah Cadiravel Mudali and Ilavarasi Annapoorani Nagamuttu Cadiravel spent the rest of their life in a Mansion named “Pavala Vaasal” in 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, (M.P.) (1906-1971)Dr. Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan, (M.P.) (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 Caruppiah Pillai 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 Caruppiah Pillai built the Rasamma Temple near the Mansion in Punduloya, after the unfortunate death of his loving daughter Rasamma Sangaralingam Caruppiah Pillai. His eldest son Sangaralingam Caruppiah Pillai Thambirajah was a former student of Trinity College in Kandy. He loved his wife so much that he built a tomb right in front of the Mansion and laid her ashes in it. The Tomb was built with such beauty and height that people could sight it from the next town and that is how they identified Punduloya. Zamindar Ramasamy Sangaralingam Caruppiah Pillai 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.