Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah (Nepali: ऐश्वर्या राज्य लक्ष्मी देवी शाह) (7 November 1949 – 1 June 2001) was the Queen of Nepal from 1972 to 2001, also referred as Bada Maharani. She was the wife and the second cousin of King Birendra and the mother of Crown Prince Dipendra, Prince Nirajan, and Princess Shruti. 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, Kathmandu.

She was celebrated as a woman of classical beauty. Her ways of dressing and hairstyles are still famous among Nepalese women.

Education

She had her school education in St Helen's Convent of Kurseong, India and St Mary's of Jawalakhel. She passed S.L.C. from Kanti Ishwari Rajya Laxmi High School in 1963. She was enrolled in the Tribhuvan University-affiliated school, Padmakanya College and graduated in Arts in 1967.

Family background

She was from the Rana family which had ruled Nepal for 104 years. She was the eldest daughter of General Kendra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (1921–1982) and his wife Shree Rajya Laxmi Shah (1926–2005). She had two brothers ( Suraj Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana; Udaya Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana) and two sisters ( Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah; Princess Prekshya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah). [2]After her death, her younger sister became Queen consort of Nepal. Her family had been the effective rulers of Nepal until the 1950s. In 1969, she married Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, then Crown Prince of Nepal (and her second cousin).

Aishwarya's youngest sister Prekshya also married into the Shah dynasty marrying Gyanendra 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 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. [4] 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. Though democracy finally came in 1990.

The country people took her support for her husband as a dominance nature. But, with the passage of time, however, Queen Aishwarya's dominance over her husband reportedly mellowed down and was seen as a caring companion for her husband whose popularity, with the passage of time, increased.

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 and Nepal Television.

Death

Queen Aishwarya was shot dead along with her husband, King Birendra; 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. 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 doll bearing her likeness.