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Josy Joseph in Kathmandu
The late Queen Aishwarya wanted her son Dipendra to marry a distant relative of the royal family instead of Devyani Rana.
Reliable sources in the palace told rediff.com that the queen, who was killed with her husband, King Birendra, two children and other members of the royal family on Friday night, had wanted Dipendra to marry a girl related to Queen Mother Ratna.
The strong-willed Aishwarya, who was believed to be the ruler in the family, had zeroed in on the queen mother's sister's granddaughter for her son. Queen Mother Ratna is the mother of the late King Birendra and wife of the late King Mahendra.
While Dipendra's rejection of her choice disappointed the queen, "she was outraged by Dipendra's insistence on marrying Devyani, who comes from a lower rung of the nobility", the sources said.
It was not the first time that the royal family had made a choice for Dipendra only to be rejected. The queen mother herself had chosen a girl earlier, the sources said. The girl was a first cousin of Kumar Gorakh Shumsher, husband of Princess Shruti.
Shruti, the only daughter of King Birendra, was also killed in the Friday night shooting, while her husband is in hospital with bullet wounds.
The sources said the queen mother's choice was "highly suitable". The girl was one of Nepal's toppers in the 12th standard and had become an advocate. "She is very beautiful too," they said.
But with Dipendra refusing to entertain her, Queen Aishwarya entered with her choice.
It is not yet officially known if the queen opposed Dipendra's marriage to Devyani Rana also because of the astrologers' warning that if the crown prince had a child before he was 35 it could result in the king's death.
But palace sources said she was not from the "right nobility".
Devyani is the granddaughter of the late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia of Gwalior and niece of Indian minister Vasundhararaje and Congress politician Madhavrao Scindia. Her mother, Usharaje, is married to Pashupati Shamsher Rana, a former minister of Nepal and grandson of the last Rana ruler of the country.
"The Scindias are considered lower ranking in nobility," the sources said, because they were employees of the Peshwas of Pune.
While Dipendra was insistent on marrying Devyani, he was not ready to take the way out offered by his father -- of relinquishing his position as crown prince. This angered Queen Aishwarya, the sources said.
In fact, Queen Aishwarya's writ ran in the entire household, whether it was selecting Princess Shruti's husband or deciding the future alliance of Prince Niranjan, youngest in the family.
When Nepal was under an absolute monarchy, the outspoken queen was active in the public arena, participating in social welfare activities and developmental projects. It was in 1990 that King Birendra gave most of his powers away, allowed democracy, and created a multi-party system.
Sources said the queen had also fixed Niranjan's alliance with the daughter of one her staff. Niranjan's fiancee's mother was an assistant to the queen in the palace and a member of the Rana clan.
Death of a Monarch: The Complete Coverage
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