Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah ( ne, ऐश्वर्य राज्य लक्ष्मी देवी शाह) (7 November 1949 – 1 June 2001) was the Queen of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

from 1972 to 2001, also referred as '' Bada Maharani'' (बडामहारानी). She was the wife 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 ...

She was the eldest among the three daughters of late General Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Shree Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah in

Lazimpat Durbar Lazimpat Durbar, Aka Agni Bhawan is a palace complex in Kathmandu, the capital of the Nepal. Initially build and occupied by ''Kaji'' Bir Keshar Pande but later palace area was occupied by Bir Shumsher JBR, as prime minister the executive head o ...

Lazimpat Lazimpat ( ne, लाजिम्पाट) is a residential area of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. It is close to the Narayanhity Palace, and is well known in Kathmandu for its hotels, restaurants, schools, colleges, embassies and depart ...

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

. She was celebrated as a woman of classical beauty, famous for her

hairstyle A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal groomin ...

s and ways of dressing.

Education

She had her school education in St Helen's Convent of

Kurseong Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and St Mary's of

Jawalakhel Jāwalākhel ( ne, जावलाखेल) is a subdivision of Lalitpur in Nepal. It is located 2 km from the ancient city centre Pātan, one of the three great capitals of Nepal until the 18th century. It derives its name from Jaulakhel ...

. She passed S.L.C. from Kanti Ishwari Rajya Laxmi High School in 1963. She was enrolled in the

Tribhuvan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is t ...

-affiliated school, Padmakanya College and graduated in arts in 1967.

Family background

She was from the

Rana family Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

which had ruled Nepal for 104 years. She was the eldest daughter of General Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1921–1982) and his wife, Shree Rajya Lakshmi Shah (1926–2005). She had two brothers (Suraj Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana; Uday Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana) and two sisters (Queen Komal Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah; Princess Prekshya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah). After her death, her younger sister became Queen consort of Nepal. Her family had been the effective rulers of Nepal until the 1950s. In 1970, she married Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, then Crown Prince of Nepal (and her second cousin). Aishwarya 1970

Aishwarya's youngest sister Prekshya also married into the

Shah dynasty The Shah dynasty ( ne, शाह वंश), also known as the Shahs of Gorkha or the Royal House of Gorkha, was the ruling Chaubise Thakuri dynasty ; and the founder of Gorkha Kingdom from 1559 to 1768 and later the unified Kingdom of Nepal ...

, marrying

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 Birendra's brother Prince Dhirendra who was killed in the palace massacre. They divorced in the 1980s. Princess Prekshya was killed in a helicopter crash on 12 November 2001.

Queen of Nepal

After

King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...

died in 1972, Birendra became the King and Aishwarya became the Queen consort. Queen Aishwarya was energetic, outspoken and a smart woman having beauty with brains. She arranged different social and cultural programmes. Queen Aishwarya supported her husband in every steps of her life though difficulties came across them. She was a far sighted women who could understand the need of the country and its people. The country people took her support for her husband as a dominant nature, but with the passage of time, Queen Aishwarya's dominance over her husband reportedly mellowed down and she was seen as a caring companion for her husband, whose popularity increased with time.

Literary works

She was interested in literature under the pen-name ''Chadani Shah'', wrote dozens of poems which have been collected under the title Aphnai Akash Aphnai Paribesh. The anthology is prefaced with criticisms about Chadani Shah's writing by veteran critics of Nepalese Literature. She was also a famous song composer and her songs were frequently aired by

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave (AM broadcasting, AM) and FM broadcasting, FM ...

and

Nepal Television Nepal Television ( ne, नेपाल टेलिभिजन), shortened to NTV is the Nepalese national public state-controlled television broadcaster. It is the oldest and most watched television channel in Nepal. The news broadcast at 8:0 ...

Assassination and death

Queen Aishwarya was shot dead along with her husband,

; her son, Prince Nirajan; her daughter, Princess Shruti; and seven other royal family members. It is widely believed that the motive for the murder was the strong opposition to the Crown Prince's proposed marriage to

Devyani Rana Devyani Rana ( ne, देवयानी राणा) is the second daughter of Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and ''Rani'' Usha Raje Scindia, daughter of Jiwaji Rao Scindia, the last maharaja of Gwalior, and the wife of Aishwarya Sin ...

. Queen Aishwarya's face was so badly disfigured by the gunshot wound that, for the widely attended state funeral procession, it was covered by a porcelain mask bearing her likeness.

Honours

National

: ** Member with Collar of the Order of Mahendra ** Nepal Pratap Bhaskara

Member Grand Cross of the Order of Honour ** Ord

Member Grand Cross of the Order of the Benevolent Ruler **

Member Grand Cross of the

Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu The Most Puissant Order of the Gorkha Dakshina Bahu ( ne, गोरखा दक्षिण बाहु; Order of the Gurkha Right Arm ''or Hand'') was an order of knighthood of Nepal. It was one of the highest honors given traditionally by the ...

King Birendra Investiture Medal (24 February 1975) ** King Birendra Silver Jubilee Medal (1997)

Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Birendra (31 January 1997)

Foreign

* : Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Virtues, Special Class * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. T ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of National Merit Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

* : Grand Cross Special Class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* : Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously. Apart f ...

Lao Royal Family The Lao Royal Family was the ruling family of the Kingdom of Laos from 1904 to 1975 and the group of close relatives of the monarch of the Kingdom of Laos. King Sisavang Vong was the founder of the modern family, consisting of a number of persons ...

: Dame Grand Cross of Royal Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol * : Grand Cross of the Order of Excellence *

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

: Grand Cross of the Order of 23 August * : ** Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

** Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

* : Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of Chula Chom Klao The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์จุลจอมเกล้า; ) was established on 16 November 1873 by King Chulalongkorn, Rama V of The Thailand, Kingdom of ...

* : Grand Cross Great Star of the

Order of the Yugoslav Star The Order of the Yugoslav Star sr, Орден југословенске звезде, ''Orden jugoslovenske zvezde'' sl, Red jugoslovanske zvezde mk, Орден на југословенската ѕвезда, ''Orden na jugoslovenskata zvezda'' ...

Royal Titles

References

External links

"Aishwarya: Nepal's forceful queen" 5 June 2001, BBC news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiswarya 1949 births 2001 deaths Nepalese queens consort 2001 murders in Asia Chandani Shah Chandani Shah 21st-century Nepalese people 20th-century Nepalese women 21st-century Nepalese women Deaths by firearm in Nepal Nepalese murder victims Hindu monarchs People murdered in Nepal Assassinated royalty Female murder victims Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Chandani Shah Chandani Shah Chandani Shah Lyric poets Nepali-language lyricists 20th-century Nepalese women writers People of the Nepalese Civil War