Indra, Crown Princess of Nepal explained

Indra
Full Name:Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah
Succession:Crown Princess of Nepal
Reign:8 May 1940 – 4 September 1950
House:Rana dynasty (by birth)
Shah dynasty (by marriage)
House-Type:Dynasty
Issue:Princess Shanti
Princess Sharada
King Birendra
King Gyanendra
Princess Shobha
Prince Dhirendra[1] [2]
Father:Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana
Mother:Megha Kumari Rajya Lakshmi
Birth Date:25 July 1926
Birth Place:Hari Bhawan, Bagmati,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Death Place:Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal

Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (25 July 1926 – 4 September 1950) was the consort and Crown Princess of Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah, then Crown Prince of Nepal. She was the mother of Kings Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, Prince Dhirendra Bir Bikram Shah, and Princesses Shanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi, Sharada Rajya Lakshmi Devi and Shobha Rajya Lakshmi Devi.

Life

She was the first wife of Mahendra of Nepal (1920–1972). Crown Princess Indra belonged to the aristocratic Rana family and was the daughter of late Honorary General Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and his wife, Megha Kumari Rajya Lakshmi.[3]

She married Crown Prince Mahendra on 8 May 1940 as a teenager at 14, and died on 4 September 1950 at the age of 24. She bore three sons and three daughters before her early death. She succumbed to a post-partum haemorrhage, a complication following the birth of her sixth child,[4] Dhirendra.[5] The death of the Crown Princess led to the building of the kingdom's first maternity hospital, the Prasuti Griha, and her head-and-shoulders statue stands in the entrance of the hospital that was built on the grounds of Charburja Durbar and was opened on 17 August 1959.[6]

Two years after Indra's death, her younger sister Ratna married Crown Prince Mahendra. There were no children by this marriage.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King Mahendra of Nepal. 11 June 1920 .
  2. Web site: Late King Mahendra with his family.
  3. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_047.pdf Himalaya
  4. Book: Jane Wilson-Howarth. A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: a journey of love and loss in the Himalayas . Bradt Travel Guides, UK . 2012. 390 . 978-1-84162-435-8 .
  5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/web-edits/in-nepal-the-lights-go-out-in-former-queens-home-but-ratna-still-commands-power-among-people-2992097/ Indian Express
  6. http://www.pmwh.gov.np/#carousel-example-generic Pmwh
  7. Web site: श्री ५ रत्नको आमा बन्ने अधिकार हनन् भएको थियो . Dcnepal.