Ratna Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah (born 19 August 1928 in Kathmandu) was Queen Consort

Queen consort

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...

 of Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 from 1955 to 1972 and Queen Mother

Queen mother

Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...

 from 1972 to 2008 when the royal family were stripped of all titles and provileges. She was technically the Queen Grandmother of Nepal for three days following the Nepalese royal massacre

Nepalese royal massacre

The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on Friday, June 1, 2001, at a house in the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, then the residence of the Nepalese monarchy, when the heir to the throne, Prince Dipendra killed nine members of his family and himself. However, it hasn't been proven that...

 in 2001, after her step-son killed royal family.

She is the second wife of King Mahendra of Nepal

Mahendra of Nepal

Possibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911....

 (1920–1972). Queen Ratna belongs to the aristocratic Rana family and is the daughter of Late Honorary General Hari Shamsher JB Rana.

Life

Ratna's older sister Indra had married Crown Prince Mahendra in 1940 but died in 1950. Two years later, Ratna married Mahendra. There were no children by this marriage; Mahendra already had three sons and three daughters by Indra. She became Queen Consort after Mahendra's father King Tribhuvan

Tribhuvan of Nepal

King Tribhuhvan Bir Bikram Shah , King of Nepal was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his death...

 died in 1955.

In 1972 Mahendra suffered a fatal heart attack while hunting in Chitwan. Ratna thereby became Queen Mother.

Public work

The former Queen Mother was famous for her social work for children in Nepal. The Monarchy in Nepal was abolished in 2008 after the Constituent Assembly election

Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, 2008

A general election for the Constituent Assembly was held in Nepal on 10 April 2008 after having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007 and 22 November 2007. The Nepalese Constituent Assembly will draft a new constitution; it will therefore decide, amongst other things, on the issue of...

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7163034.stm.

Titles

• Lady Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi (1928–1952)
• HRH The Crown Princess of Nepal (1952–1955)
• HM The Queen of Nepal (1955–1972)
• HM The Queen Mother of Nepal (1972–2001, 2001–2008)
• HM The Queen Grandmother of Nepal (2001)
• HM Queen Ratna of Nepal (titual 2008-)

External links

• Royal Court of Nepal