His title Tjokorda Gde indicates that Sukawati belonged to the highest ksatria (one of the four noble castes in Bali).
Traditionally the eldest son becomes the head of the Puri Ubud royal family, but like his father, he took a more active role in the Indonesian government.
Tjokorda Wim started his education in Bali and also attended Primary School in Menteng, Jakarta.
Tjokorda Wim also attended primary school in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands, when his father was heading a cultural mission in Europe (expo di Paris) in 1931.
It included a nine-tiered, 22-meter-tall bade (cremation tower), a five-meter-long naga banda (dragon), and a five-meter-tall lembu (black bull)sarcophagus.