Nepal Royal Family Massacred
K A T M A N D U, Nepal, June 1 -- Nepal's crown prince opened fire in the royal palace today, killing the king, queen, a prince and five others before shooting himself, a senior military official said.
The official said Crown Prince Dipendra, 30, killed all themembers of the royal family. The dead included his parents, KingBirendra and Queen Aiswarya, his younger brother, Prince Nirajan,and his sister, Princess Shruti. The princess is married and hastwo daughters.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,the shooting was prompted by a dispute over the crown prince'smarriage because his mother, the queen, reportedly objected to hischoice of a bride. No other details were immediately available.
The crown prince, educated at Britain's Eton College, was heirto the throne.
King Birendra held nearly absolute power until 1990, after sevenweeks of demonstrations and riots. The Harvard-educated king thengave into demands from democracy activists and a parliamentarygovernment was established.
The turning point in the king's resistance came on April 6,1990, when police fired at 200,000 demonstrators marching towardthe royal palace. Officials said at least 72 people died, butwitnesses put the death toll at more than 300.
Birendra was crowned king in 1972 to replace his late father,King Mahrendra. He was the latest monarch in the Shah dynasty,which has held the throne since the mid-1700s. Many Nepalis,especially illiterate farmers who comprise the bulk of thiscountry's 25 million people, viewed the king as the reincarnationof the Hindu god Shiva. Some 86 percent of Nepal's population isHindu.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Katmandu last Dec. 29 to greet King Birendra on his 55th birthday. Schools and government offices were closed as well.
Nepal is located in South Asia along the slopes of the Himalayanmountains. It is bordered on the north by China and on the east,south and west by India.
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