Nepal's Royal Bloodbath

About this episode

This episode explores the tragic events of the Nepalese royal massacre and its implications.

Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on his whole family at a family dinner at Kathmandu’s Narayanhiti Palace on 1st June, 2001. He killed nine royals, including his father, King Birendra, his mother, Queen Aishwarya, and his siblings; then reportedly turned the gun on himself. In a bizarre twist of constitutional formality, Dipendra — though in a coma — was then declared King of Nepal for three days. When he died on June 4th, his uncle Gyanendra, who hadn’t been at the dinner, was crowned king. This convenient absence — and his immediate ascension — instantly fuelled public suspicion and conspiracy theories. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explore the commonly-accepted motive for the massacre: Dipendra’s forbidden romance with Devyani Rana, from a rival aristocratic family; ask how Dipendra was able to sneak in multiple weapons into a palace laden with security; and consider how Nepal moved on — politically fractured and spiritually shaken… Content warning: mass murder, suicide Further Reading: • ‘Mystery of a love divided’ (The Irish Times, 2002): https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/mystery-of-a-love-divided-1.1057937 • ‘A royal massacre: 20 years ago, a lovesick Nepalese…

People in this episode

Hosts: Arion, Olly, Rebecca

Topics covered

• royal family
• mass murder
• Nepal
• conspiracy theories
• forbidden romance
• political history

Keywords

• Nepal
• royal massacre
• Crown Prince Dipendra
• King Birendra
• family tragedy
• conspiracy theories
• political history

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kathmandu

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