A White House State Dinner is one of those rare occasions in which style and substance are in perfect accord. It is a noble and civilized occasion. Attendees seem if not invincible, at least protected from the more barbaric vicissitudes of life. Yet, consider the fate of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya of Nepal, whom President Ronald Reagan toasted at a State Dinner in their honor in December of 1983. Less than twenty years later, in 2001, they were massacred, along with most of their immediate family by their crazed, machine gun-wielding son, Crown Prince Dipendra (a.k.a. "Dippy" to his former Eton classmates).
President Ronald and First Lady Nancy Reagan with King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya of Nepal at a 1983 White House State Dinner
As detailed in Love & Death in Kathmandu, A Strange Tale of Royal Murder, Crown Prince Dipendra's deadly rampage occurred during a family dinner at the royal palace a few months prior to 9/11. Having met the royal couple, Nancy Reagan must have been horrified by the news, and, given her interest in astrology, also fascinated. Astrology and mysticism had long been important in Nepal, and though the royal astrologer had to exercise caution when forecasting for a king who was considered a living deity, there were signs that Crown Prince Dipendra would never accede the throne.
According to Nepali oral history, a holy man named Goraknath lived twenty generations ago, when Nepal was a patchwork of independent kingdoms. Goraknath prophesied to King Birendra's distant ancestor, King Ram, that his family, the Shah, would, in ten generations' time, rule a unified Nepal, but only for the next eleven generations. Ten generations later, the first prophecy came to pass. The Shah family did rule a united Nepal. But, what of the second prophesy? King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya were that fateful eleventh generation. Superstition suggested that the clock was ticking, and consequently, they were wary of their son and successor, Dipendra, and, at times, distant. However, their normally cool relations became heated when they refused Dipendra's choice of royal bride. Dipendra became enraged, murdering not only his parents but also his siblings, in-laws, and other close relations.
King Birendra was the doomed eleventh generation. It is true that a mortally wounded Dipendra technically succeeded his father for several days, becoming the twelfth generation, but he never regained consciousness. For all intents and purposes, his generation, the twelfth, was done. The monarchy limped along under Gyanendra, Birendra's brother, but in 2008, Nepal abolished its monarchy altogether. As Goraknath predicted centuries earlier, the Shah dynasty lasted for eleven generations.
Moreover, when Gyandendra (Birendra's brother) was a baby, a palm reader foretold that he would twice be king. Given that he was a younger son, the family considered it unlikely that he would rule even once, let alone twice. And yet, that is what came to pass. The first time was in 1950, when as a three-year-old, he was involuntarily crowned during an unsuccessful coup attempt. The second was, of course, after the tragic murder of his older brother, Birendra.
According to Nepali oral history, a holy man named Goraknath lived twenty generations ago, when Nepal was a patchwork of independent kingdoms. Goraknath prophesied to King Birendra's distant ancestor, King Ram, that his family, the Shah, would, in ten generations' time, rule a unified Nepal, but only for the next eleven generations. Ten generations later, the first prophecy came to pass. The Shah family did rule a united Nepal. But, what of the second prophesy? King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya were that fateful eleventh generation. Superstition suggested that the clock was ticking, and consequently, they were wary of their son and successor, Dipendra, and, at times, distant. However, their normally cool relations became heated when they refused Dipendra's choice of royal bride. Dipendra became enraged, murdering not only his parents but also his siblings, in-laws, and other close relations.
King Birendra was the doomed eleventh generation. It is true that a mortally wounded Dipendra technically succeeded his father for several days, becoming the twelfth generation, but he never regained consciousness. For all intents and purposes, his generation, the twelfth, was done. The monarchy limped along under Gyanendra, Birendra's brother, but in 2008, Nepal abolished its monarchy altogether. As Goraknath predicted centuries earlier, the Shah dynasty lasted for eleven generations.
Moreover, when Gyandendra (Birendra's brother) was a baby, a palm reader foretold that he would twice be king. Given that he was a younger son, the family considered it unlikely that he would rule even once, let alone twice. And yet, that is what came to pass. The first time was in 1950, when as a three-year-old, he was involuntarily crowned during an unsuccessful coup attempt. The second was, of course, after the tragic murder of his older brother, Birendra.
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