[3] Royapettah is bounded in the direction of Northwest by Nungambakkam, North by Chintadripet, Northeast by Chepauk, West by Gopalapuram, East by Triplicane, Southwest by Teynampet, South by Mylapore and Southeast by Marina Beach.

Royapettah, along with the suburbs of Nungambakkam and Teynampet, was part of the Great Choultry Plain, as the British had it in their records back in 1721.

[6] In 1798, the British East India Company constructed the Amir Mahal to house its administrative offices.

[7] When the Company annexed the Carnatic kingdom in 1855 with the Doctrine of Lapse, the Chepauk Palace, the official residence of the Nawabs, was auctioned off and purchased by the Madras government.

[7] The Nawab moved to a building called Shadi Mahal on Triplicane High Road and lived there.

[7] However, the British granted the Amir Mahal to the Prince of Arcot and the office building was soon converted into a palace by Robert Chrisholm.

[9] The Subramania Swamy Temple located adjacent to the church was built around 1889 in the area now known as Zam Bazaar.

[20] This, coupled with low rental rates in the nearby streets, resulted in automobile spare manufacturers and dealers opening shops in the region, including Pudupet, Chintadripet, General Patters Road, Whites Road, State Bank Street and so forth.

The suburb hosts the headquarters of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, an Indian regional political party founded by the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran.

[24] Located centrally within the city, Royapettah is well connected to other neighbourhoods of Chennai, with several bus routes passing through it.