On This Day: Royal Massacre in Nepal

Fifteen years ago, a mass shooting at the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, the home of the former Nepalese Royal Family, claimed the lives of ten royals, including the King and Queen.

The official inquest into the event found that the-then Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire during a family gathering at the Palace, where he had earlier been drinking and smoking hashish. The general consensus is that the reason behind the Prince’s actions was a disagreement with his mother, Queen Aishwarya, over his choice of bride.

Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal

Those who died on the evening of the shooting were King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, their son Prince Nirajan, their daughter Princess Shruti, the King’s brother Dhirendra and sisters Shanti and Sharada, and a first cousin, Jayanti. Princess Sharada’s husband, Kumar Khadga was also killed.

Crown Prince Dipendra, who become King when his father succumbed to his injuries, proceeded to shoot himself after ending his spree; he then spent almost three days in a coma before passing away himself.

The funeral procession of the Royal Family on June 2, 2001

The throne then fell to King Birendra’s unpopular brother Prince Gyanendra, who was one of the few members of the family not present at the horror gathering (conspiracy theories say that it was Gyanendra who arranged the massacre in a plot to take the throne and Crown Prince Dipendra wasn’t the shooter).

Nepal’s monarchy was unable to survive the turmoil that came after the massacre and the new King Gyanendra’s interference in political matters that led to him suspending the constitution and taking complete control over the country. Nepal became a republic in 2008.

Filed under Nepal
Tagged King Birendra of Nepal, King Dipendra of Nepal, Massacre, Queen Aishwarya of Nepal.