Aiswarya

Aishwarya (7 November 1949 – 1 June 2001) was the Queen of Nepal from 1972 to 2001. She was the wife of King Birendra and the mother of Crown Prince Dipendra, Prince Nirajan, and Princess Shruti. She hailed from the aristrocratic Rana family which had ruled Nepal for 104 years, being the oldest daughter of Gen. Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1927-1982) and his wife Shree Rajya Laxmi Rana (1928-2005). Her family had been the effective rulers o... more

Aishwarya (7 November 1949 – 1 June 2001) was the Queen of Nepal from 1972 to 2001. She was the wife of King Birendra and the mother of Crown Prince Dipendra, Prince Nirajan, and Princess Shruti. She hailed from the aristrocratic Rana family which had ruled Nepal for 104 years, being the oldest daughter of Gen. Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1927-1982) and his wife Shree Rajya Laxmi Rana (1928-2005). Her family had been the effective rulers of Nepal until the 1950s and she was ever conscious of this fact. She was considered to be staunchly royalist, believing in the absolute power of the monarchy, while her husband was more open to democratic governance. Due to her forceful nature and her impetuousness, she earned many enemies, most notably the leftist parties of Nepal. In 1998, a crowd threw stones at her and tight security measures had to be adopted for her future public appearances. Queen Aishwariya was considered to be the power behind her husband's throne and the real ruler... less