Topgay was the son of
Gongzim Ugyen Dorji, adviser to
Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck both before and after the rise of the latter to the throne.
Gongzim Ugyen Dorji had advised the future First King to mediate between the
British and
Tibet, and later to allow the large-scale
induction of Nepalis into Bhutan establishing friendly ties with
British India. His paternal aunt was
Ayi Thubten Wangmo. Topgay Raja married Princess
Mayum Choying Wangmo, the youngest daughter of the Sikkimese
Chogyal, at
Bhutan House on April 5, 1918. Together they had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son was
Jigme Palden Dorji, born in 1919. He went on to become Governor of
Haa in 1924, and then to succeed his father as the first
Prime Minister of Bhutan. Jigme Palden Dorji was assassinated amid a political struggle between modernist pro-Dorji and monarchist pro-Wangchuck factions. Topgay's second son was named Ugyen, born in 1933. Ugyen was recognized as a renowned
lama at
Bhutan House as a young boy. This lama was a strong influence in
Tibet and
Mongolia. He was thereafter called Ugyen Rimpoche, or
Boedhay Rimpoche. The youngest son was
Lhendup "Lenny" Dorji, born October 6, 1935. Lhendup served briefly as Acting Prime Minister in 1964. That year, he went into voluntary exile in Nepal and later settled at
Kalimpong. Topgay's elder daughter
Ashi Tashi Dorji served as the
Gyaltshab (King's Representative / Regent) of Eastern Bhutan. In 1964, she accompanied Lhendup into voluntary exile, though she returned to Bhutan in 1972. On October 5, 1951, Topgay's younger daughter
Ashi Kesang Choden Dorji married the Third King
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, creating a new bond so prominent as to cause some discontent among other Bhutanese families. Topgay is thus an ancestor of the current Fifth King
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. ==Life==