15 Minutes That Ended A Monarchy: Inside Nepal's 2001 Royal Massacre

It was like any other ordinary evening at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace on June 1, 2001. Nepal's Shah family had gathered for their customary private dinner. Outside the palace gates, the city was slowly moving towards calling it a day.

At around 9 PM, in 15 minutes, Nepal's King and his heirs had been gunned down.

The Family Gathering

Among those present were King Birendra, widely seen as the one who steered Nepal towards a constitutional monarchy in 1990; Queen Aishwarya; and their children, including Crown Prince Dipendra.

According to later investigations, Dipendra had been drinking heavily that evening. Family tensions reportedly simmered beneath the formal setting, particularly over his desire to marry Devyani Rana, a match said to be opposed by members of the royal household.

Devyani is the daughter of Nepali politician Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Usha Raje Scindia, and is related to India's former Gwalior royal family, including the late Madhavrao Scindia and Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

Devyani Rana, daughter of former foreign and finance minister Pashupati Shumshere Rana

Witness accounts suggest Dipendra appeared increasingly agitated as the evening progressed. Shortly before 9 pm, he allegedly left the billiards room after behaving erratically. He was escorted toward his quarters. After few minutes, the dinner resumed.

The First Shots

Dipendra re-entered the room, dressed in combat gear and carrying automatic weapons. He opened fire.

“Dipendra just looked at his father, said nothing, and squeezed the trigger once,” Ravi Shumshere Rana, the Crown Prince's uncle, told Time Magaine later.

King Birendra was among the first to be hit. Some tried to intervene while others attempted to flee. Gunfire was heard through the palace halls, shattering glass.

Queen Aishwarya was shot while trying to reach her husband. Prince Nirajan and Princess Shruti were also hit. Multiple members of the extended royal family fell within minutes.

Late Nepalese Princess Shruti holding her two-year-old daughter Girbani

Events In The Palace Grounds

The shooting moved to the palace gardens, as per the survivors' accounts.

After firing multiple rounds, Dipendra reportedly turned the gun on himself. He was found critically injured but alive.

Palace staff and security personnel rushed the wounded to Birendra Military Hospital in Chhauni. Several members of the royal family were declared dead upon arrival. Others died to their injuries shortly afterwards.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Nepal's royal family was gone.

A King In A Coma

Dipendra, though unconscious, was declared king under constitutional protocol. For three days, Nepal had a monarch in a coma. On June 4, 2001, he died without regaining consciousness.

The crown then passed to Gyanendra, King Birendra's younger brother, who was reportedly not present at the dinner that night.

Nepal's former King Gyanendra Shah

The massacre happened at a time when Nepal was already facing a Maoist rebellion and political instability. After 2001, people began losing trust in the monarchy.

When King Gyanendra took direct control of the government in 2005, public anger grew even stronger. In 2008, Nepal ended its 240-year-old monarchy and became a Federal Democratic Republic.