Princess Shova Shahi of Nepal or Shova Rajya Lakshmi Devi (born January 17, 1949) is a former princess of
Nepal. She is the youngest daughter of the late King
Mahendra of Nepal. She is the only remaining daughter of King Mahendra; her older sisters
Princess Shanti and
Princess Sharada were murdered in the
Royal massacre of Nepal along with The His Majesty King
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
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 his family.
The name Shobha/Shova means "Grace" and "Splendor".
Life
Princess Shova was born in
Kathmandu, the fifth child and youngest daughter of
King Mahendra and his first wife,
Crown Princess Indra.
She was educated at the
Loreto Convent,
Darjeeling.
In 1970, she married ''Kumar'' Mohan Bahadur Shahi, a descendant of the ruling families of
Rukumkot,
Jumla and
Jajarkot
Jajarkot District ( ne, जाजरकोट जिल्ला) a part of Karnali Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Khalanga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population of ...
.
On June 1, 2001, ten members of the Nepalese royal family were murdered, reportedly by the
Crown Prince Dipendra. Dipendra first shot
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 ...
. The wounded king wanted to pick up the weapon that the Crown Prince had left behind and shoot his own son, in an attempt to stop the massacre, but the king was stopped by Princess Shova. Shova must have thought that this was the only weapon in the Crown Prince's possession. She pulled out the magazine. However, the
Crown Prince had several other weapons in his possession.
Himalaya
/ref> The massacre resulted in the deaths of ten royals (including the Crown Prince, who committed suicide). Princess Shova Shahi herself was wounded but survived.
In 2008, the monarchy in Nepal was abolished. Today, Shova and her brother, the former king Gyanendra, are the only remaining children of King Mahendra.
Patronages
* Member of the Nepalese Red Cross Society.
Honours
;National Honours
* Member of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, 1st class (13 April 1972).
* Member of the Order of Three Divine Powers, 1st class (23 October 2001).
* King Mahendra Investiture Medal (2 May 1956).
* Ati Subikhyata Sewalankar enowned Service Medal(1968).
* Vishesh Sewa istinguished Service Medal(1970).
* King Birendra Investiture Medal (24 February 1975).
* Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Birendra (31 January 1997).
* King Gyanendra Investiture Medal (4 June 2001).
;Foreign honours
* : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange
The Order of the House of Orange (Dutch: ''Huisorde van Oranje''), sometimes referred to as the House Order of Orange, is a dynastic order of the House of Orange-Nassau, the royal family of the Netherlands similar to the Royal Victorian Order in ...
(25 April 1967).
* : Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (16 May 1978).
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shova Shahi of Nepal, Princess
1949 births
Nepalese princesses
Nepalese royalty
Living people
Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class
Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown
Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange
20th-century Nepalese nobility
21st-century Nepalese nobility
Nepalese Hindus