His Majesty King '''Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal''' (June_27, 1971 – June_4, 2001) was the reigning monarch of Nepal from June_1 to June_4 2001. Educated at England's exclusive Eton_College, the intelligent and well-liked prince was thought to have a good future ahead of him, until he suddenly slaughtered his family at a royal dinner on June_1 2001. Dipendra was also mortally wounded, either by his own hand or at the hands of the palace guard, and officially became king for the three days he lingered in a coma.
==Motive for Murder==
His motivation was reportedly anger over a dispute about his marriage plans. Dipendra's choice for marriage was Devyani_Rana, a member of the royal family of Gwalior. Unfortunately, Devyani also was a member of the Rana clan, whose scions had served as the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal during the previous dynasty, with the title Maharaja. There was historical animosity between the Rana clan and the Shah family of kings but there was also a long history of inter-marriage between the two Kshatriya Caste groups.
According to official accounts, Dipendra was denied his choice of marriage by his mother, and so he Massacred his family in a much-publicised incident after indulging in a drinking binge. Among the dead were his father (His Majesty King Birendra), mother, brother, and sister. After the event, he survived comatose for three days, and was proclaimed king in his hospital bed. He died of his injuries on June_4 2001 and was succeeded by his brother, HRH Prince Gyanendra http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1366170.stm.
Gyanendra (not as beloved in the country as his brother, Birendra) had been third in line to the throne before the massacre. He was out of town (in Pokhara) during the massacre and was the closest surviving relative of the king. Gyanendra's son, Crown Prince Paras, was reportedly in the royal palace during the massacre but escaped injury. Paras is unpopular in Nepal because of a prior history of debauchery, including at least one incident of vehicular homicide for which he was never prosecuted.
Conspiracy theories circulate in Nepal that suggest the official account of the massacre may differ from the actual events.
==The victims of the massacre==
Died
* HM King Birendra, father
* HM Queen Aishwarya, mother
* HRH Prince Nirajan, brother
* HRH Princess_Shruti, sister
* (HRH Prince) Dhirendra, King Birendra's brother who had renounced his title
* HRH Princess Jayanti, King Birendra's cousin
* HRH Princess Shanti, King Birendra's sister
* HRH Princess Sharada, King Birendra's sister
* Kumar_Khadga, Princess Sharada's husband
Wounded
* HRH Princess Shova, King Birendra's sister
* Kumar Gorakh, Princess Sruti's husband
* HRH Princess Komal, Prince (now King) Gyanendra's wife
* Ketaki Singh, King Birendra's cousin
'''Note:''' Dipendra himself died three days later. Kumar Khadga's mother Bodh Kumari Shah was an indirect casualty. She died of Shock on hearing the news of her son's death.
==See also==
* History_of_Nepal
* Patricide and Fratricide
==External links==
*SYNOPSIS OF THE HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE ROYAL PALACE INCIDENT (Unofficial translation taken from Nepal Home Page and the Nepali Times.)
*Murder and intrigue in Katmandu (World Tibet News Network)
*Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains (RWOR)
*Trapped in tradition (Frontline:India's National Magazine)
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{{succession box two to two|
title1=Crown Prince of Nepal|
years1=1972–2001|
title2=King of Nepal|
years2=2001|
before=Birendra Bir Bikram Shah|
after=Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah}}
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Dipendra of Nepal
Dipendra of Nepal
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Ja:ディペンドラ・ビール・ビクラム・シャー・デーヴ
Pl:Dipendra
Ru:Дипендра
Zh:迪潘德拉