King of Nepal

The King of Nepal, traditionally known as the Mahārājādhirāja (Nepali: श्री ५ महाराजधिराज), was Nepal's head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. He served as the head of the Nepalese monarchy—Shah Dynasty. The monarchy was founded in 1768 and was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly.^[1] The subnational monarchies in Mustang, Bajhang, Salyan, and Jajarkot were also abolished in October. ^[2]

History

The Kingdom of Nepal was founded on 25 September 1768 by Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha king who succeeded in unifying the kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur into a single state under his Shah dynasty. The Kingdom of Nepal was de jure an absolute monarchy for most of its history. However, from 1846 until the Revolution of 1951, the country was de facto ruled by the hereditary Prime Ministers from the Rana dynasty, reducing the role of the Shah monarch to that of a figurehead. In November 1990, after the Jana Andolan movement, the new Constitution was adopted and the country became a constitutional monarchy.

On 13 February 1996, the Nepalese Civil War was launched by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), with the aim of overthrowing the kingdom and establishing a 'People's Republic'. On 1 February 2005, as the security situation deteriorated in the civil war, King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency, suspended the Constitution and assumed direct control over the country.^[3] On 24 April 2006, after the Loktantra Andolan movement, the king agreed to give up absolute power and to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives.^[4][5] On 21 November 2006, the Civil War ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord.^[6] On 15 January 2007, the King was suspended from exercising his duties by the newly formed interim legislature. Finally, on 28 May 2008, the kingdom was officially abolished by the 1st Constituent Assembly and Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was declared.^[7] The subnational monarchies in Mustang, Bajhang, Salyan, and Jajarkot were also abolished in October 2008.^[8]

Nepalese royal massacre

On 1 June 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra went on a shooting spree and murdered his father, King Birendra, his mother Queen Aishwarya, and several other members of the royal family. Afterwards, he shot himself.^[9][10] Immediately after the massacre, Dipendra was proclaimed king while in a coma, but he died on 4 June 2001, after a three-day reign.^[11] His uncle, Prince Gyanendra, was appointed regent for the three days, then ascended the throne himself after Dipendra died.

Kings of Nepal (1768–2008)

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Prithvi Narayan Shah बडामहाराजधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह	(1723-01-07)7 January 1723[12] – 11 January 1775(1775-01-11) (aged 52)	25 September 1768	11 January 1775	Son of Nara Bhupal Shah	Shah
Pratap Singh Shah प्रतापसिंह शाह	(1751-04-16)16 April 1751 – 17 November 1777(1777-11-17) (aged 26)	11 January 1775	17 November 1777	Son of Prithvi Narayan Shah	Shah
Rana Bahadur Shah रण बहादुर शाह	(1775-05-25)25 May 1775 – 25 April 1806(1806-04-25) (aged 30)	17 November 1777	8 March 1799 (abdicated)	Son of Pratap Singh Shah	Shah
Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah गीर्वाणयुद्ध विक्रम शाह	(1797-10-19)19 October 1797 – 20 November 1816(1816-11-20) (aged 19)	8 March 1799	20 November 1816	Son of Rana Bahadur Shah	Shah
Rajendra Bikram Shah राजेन्द्र बिक्रम शाह	(1813-12-03)3 December 1813 – 10 July 1881(1881-07-10) (aged 67)	20 November 1816	12 May 1847 (abdicated)	Son of Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah	Shah
Surendra Bikram Shah सुरेन्द्र बिक्रम शाह	(1829-10-20)20 October 1829 – 17 May 1881(1881-05-17) (aged 51)	12 May 1847	17 May 1881	Son of Rajendra Bikram Shah	Shah
Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah पृथ्वी वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1875-08-18)18 August 1875 – 11 December 1911(1911-12-11) (aged 36)	17 May 1881	11 December 1911	Grandson of Surendra Bikram Shah	Shah
Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (1st reign) त्रिभुवन वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1906-06-30)30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955(1955-03-13) (aged 48)	11 December 1911	7 November 1950 (went into exile)	Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah (1st reign) ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1947-07-07) 7 July 1947	7 November 1950	7 January 1951 (stepped down)	Grandson of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (2nd reign) त्रिभुवन वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1906-06-30)30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955(1955-03-13) (aged 48)	7 January 1951	13 March 1955	Son of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah महेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1920-06-11)11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972(1972-01-31) (aged 51)	14 March 1955	31 January 1972	Son of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah वीरेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1945-12-28)28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001(2001-06-01) (aged 55)	31 January 1972	1 June 2001 (assassinated)	Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah[13] दीपेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1971-06-27)27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001(2001-06-04) (aged 29)	1 June 2001	4 June 2001	Son of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah	Shah
Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah (2nd reign) ज्ञानेन्द्र वीर बिक्रम शाह	(1947-07-07) 7 July 1947	4 June 2001	28 May 2008 (deposed)	Son of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah	Shah

Note

Prithvi Narayan Shah was the first ruler of "unified" Nepal. However, prior to 1768, the modern-day Nepal consisted of various small kingdoms, among which Shah Kings continued to rule in a few of them (notably in Gorkha). So the actual history of the Shah dynasty dates much before Prithvi Narayan Shah.^[14]

Royal Standard

• 
  Royal Standard of Nepal circa 1928
• 
  Royal Standard of Nepal circa 1969
• 
  Royal Standard of Nepal circa 2001

See also

• List of heads of state of Nepal, for a comprehensive list of Nepalese heads of state since 1768
• President of Nepal
• List of Prime Ministers of Nepal
• Kingdom of Nepal
• Coronation of the Nepalese monarch
• Line of succession to the former Nepalese throne
• Nepalese royal massacre
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal

References