Paras Shah (born 30 December 1971) is the former and last

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

of Nepal, the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne, from 2001 until the abolition of the monarchy by the Interim Constituent Assembly in 2008 following the Constituent Assembly election.

Education

Paras is the only son of the deposed King

Gyanendra Gyanendra Shah ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह, born 7 July 1947) is a former monarch who was the last King of Nepal, reigning from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuva ...

and Queen Komal of Nepal. He has one sister, Prerana. He received his early education at St. Joseph's School in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

, India;

Budhanilkantha School Budhanilkantha School, often referred to as BNKS, is a competitive public boarding school in Nepal. It is located in Narayanthan, 8 kilometres north of Kathmandu, at the foothills of Shivapuri mountain (). It is named after the Budhanilkantha T ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

; and Laboratory School,

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. He later attended Luther College in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and the

Schiller International University Schiller International University (SIU) is a private for-profit university with its main campus and administrative headquarters in Tampa, Florida. It is named after the German playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller. It has campuses on tw ...

in the United Kingdom studying for an undergraduate degree in Business Administration. However, he did not complete his undergraduate education.Crown ex-Prince Paras profile
/ref>

Family

Paras married Himani Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah a member of the Princely family of

Sikar Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is part of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu.Sik ...

on 25 January 2000. They have three children: Purnika Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (b. 12 December 2000), Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (b. 30 July 2002) and Kritika Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (b. 16 October 2004).

Crown Prince (2001–2007)

On 1 June 2001, Paras was at the Royal Palace during the royal massacre, which resulted in the deaths of

King Birendra Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज वीरेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was the tenth Shah Ruler and the King of N ...

and most of the Royal Family, including

Crown Prince Dipendra Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, दीपेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह, 27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001) was the King of Nepal for three days from 1 to 4 June 2001. For the duration of his three day reign he was ...

. Paras sustained injuries in the massacre and, according to eyewitness accounts, saved the lives of at least three royals, including two children, by pulling a sofa over them.

, who had held the title of King of Nepal briefly during the 1950s, was again crowned king. Paras, as King Gyanendra's only son, became Crown Prince of Nepal on 26 October 2001. In July 2007, the Nepalese Prime Minister

Girija Prasad Koirala Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ne, गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Congress and served as the ...

called for then-King Gyanendra to abdicate the throne and for Paras to renounce his dynastic rights in favour of his son, Prince Hridayendra.

Conservation trust controversy

In 2008, the

National Trust for Nature Conservation The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), () previously known as King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation is a Nepalese non-governmental organization working in the field of nature conservation. History It was established in 1982 as ...

, published a report alleging that the Royal Family had misused funds belonging to the charity. The trust was formerly run by Crown Prince Paras, with

King Gyanendra Gyanendra Shah ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र शाह, born 7 July 1947) is a former monarch who was the last King of Nepal, reigning from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuva ...

as its patron. The committee alleged that the Royal Family had spent large amounts of trust funds on themselves over several years to finance trips abroad, lavish parties, Queen Komal's health check-ups in the United Kingdom. One trip highlighted in the report was Crown Prince Paras' visit to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

to donate a pair of

Indian Rhinoceros } The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...

, an endangered species in Nepal, to a zoo. As the charity is now run by Maoists, the objectivity of the findings has been questioned.

Brushes with the law

In August 2000, Paras was alleged to have run over and killed Praveen Gurung, a popular singer. A police investigation ensued, but Paras was not charged. An army officer later claimed responsibility for the incident. Paras was reported to have fired a pistol into the air at a Chitwan hotel on 11 December 2010 under the influence of alcohol. He reportedly opened fire at Rubel Chaudhary, alleging that his family members had conspired to abolish Nepal's monarchy and also attempted to defame Nepal and Nepalis during his confrontations with the prince. He was arrested 3 days later for a court trial to be initiated on 19 December. In July 2014, Paras was arrested on drugs charges in Thailand for a second time with the possibility of facing five years in prison. Local newspapers had reported that the police arrested Paras with a green plastic tube used for drugs, and two similar plastic tubes from a BMW vehicle he was riding. On 30 July 2021, Paras shah was again in limelight after mistreating the police officer on duty. He had misbehaved at Narayan Gopal Chowk in Maharajgunj on Friday evening when the traffic police tried to interrogate him. Nepal police explained he was drunk and not wearing helmet. Later he apologized.

Heart attacks

On 6 September 2007, Paras was rushed to the Military Hospital after he complained of chest pain. Later, at around 11:30 am, he was transferred to the Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu. He was operated on for about 50 minutes, apparently to treat a "mild heart attack". Doctors performed a

balloon angioplasty Angioplasty, is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atherosclero ...

on him to clear his blocked artery. On 19 February 2013, Paras was admitted to Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand after he suffered a second heart attack. After being in hospital for more than two weeks, Paras gained consciousness on 2 March. On 28 January 2019 he suffered a third heart attack.The Himalayan Times
/ref> Paras was admitted to Norvic International Hospital.

Ancestry

References

External links

Royal Court of Nepal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paras Shah Nepalese princes 1971 births Living people People from Kathmandu Heirs apparent who never acceded Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class People of the Nepalese Civil War 21st-century Nepalese nobility Nepalese Hindus