Kathmandu, June 2: Prince Regent Gyanendra is the de facto King of Nepal as King Dipendra is still in critical condition at a hospital in the capital with gunshot wounds. In an address to the nation read out on state radio and television on Sunday morning, Prince Regent Gyanendra for the first time told the Nepali people that the dead at the shootings at the royal palace on Friday night included three of King Birendra’s sisters, and his brother-in-law. But the Prince Regent said the deaths were caused by an “accidental discharge of an automatic weapon” during the weekly family dinner. Gyanendra, an environmentalist and Chairman of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, is the middle brother of King Birendra.
Youngest brother Dhirendra, who lost his royal title after marrying a foreigner, was also injured in the shoot-out, family sources said. Gyanendra was appointed King in 1950 by the then Rana prime ministers after his father King Mahendra and grandfather King Tribhuvan fled to India. A few months later, King Tribhuvan returned triumphantly to Kathmandu to restore the Shah dynasty. King Birendra married Aishwarya in February 1970 and had three children, he ascended the throne on January 31,1972 after the death of King Mahendra.
Nepal heads towards another period of instability after King Birendra’s death. One political analyst told Nepalnews: “King Birendra was a known personality. He helped institunalize democracy in the last ten years. I cannot predict the future right now.”
A day after the funeral, Nepalis were still in shock and reading the morning newspapers in disbelief. The night had echoed with loud canon booms from Tundikhel as the funeral pyres of King Birednra, Queen Aishwarya, Princess Sruti and Prince Nirajan were lit at Pashupati. Prince Regent Gyanendra and former King Birendra’s brother-in-law Kumar Mohan Bikram Shahi attended the state funeral. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, whose effigy was burnt during the funeral procession, was also present at the cremation site. The government announced all offices will be closed for five-days, and a period of national mourning for 13 days.
Ghorahk SJB Rana, husband of Princess Shruti, is critically injured with lung wounds. Queen Mother Ratna and Princess Helen, aunt of the King, survived the shoot-out as they were not in the dining room when the firing took place.