Prince Hridayendra of Nepal

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Prince Hridayendra of Nepal

Born Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
July 30, 2002 (2002-07-30) (age 5)
Kathmandu, Nepal
Title Prince of Nepal,
Nava Yuvaraj
Religious beliefs Hindu
Parents Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani
Nepalese Royal Family
  • HM Queen Mother Ratna
  • HRH Princess Shova
  • HRH Princess Puja
  • HRH Princess Dilasha
  • HRH Princess Sitashma
  • HRH Princess Jotshana
Styles of
Prince Hridayendra of Nepal
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir

Prince Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal (born 30 July 2002) is a member of the deposed Nepalese Royal Family and was second in line to the former throne. The monarchy was officially abolished on 28 May 2008.[1] Until the abolition of the monarchy he was known in Nepal by the title Nava Yuvaraj.

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[edit] Early life

Prince Hridayendra was born at 12:49 p.m. in the Narayanhity Royal Palace in Kathmandu the son of Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani, at birth he weighed 3.3 kg.[2]

His grandfather Gyanendra is the deposed king of Nepal and his grandmother is Queen Komal a member of the Rana dynasty. Through his mother he is descended from the Indian princely family of Sikar who belong to the Shekhawat clan. Following Hindu custom he was officially named Hridayendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev in a ceremony at the Narayanhity Royal Palace eleven days after his birth.[3] At birth he was given the title Nava Yuvaraj (Young Crown Prince) being the eldest son of the heir apparent.[4]

In Hinduism there are a number of stages to groom a future king. On 9 January 2003, six months after his birth in accordance with Nepalese royal tradition, Prince Hridayendra received the traditional rice feeding ceremony (Annaprasan ceremony) at the Narayanhity Royal Palace. The ceremony was carried out in accordance with Vedic tradition. During the ceremony he was fed rice firstly by his mother followed by other members of the Royal Family. Following another traditional feature of the ceremony he was offered a gold coin by the prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand and other officials. Later Prince Hridayendra made his first public appearance in a chariot procession where he was taken to holy sites in old Kathmandu where worship and rituals were held. The Prime Minister acts as guardian during this stage of the ceremony, and carries the prince around the temples to symbolise the roots between the people and the monarchy.[5]

Hridayendra is currently attending Rupy’s International School in Kathmandu with his sisters Princesses Purnika and Kritika.[6]

[edit] Possible future succession

Prince Hridayendra was second in the line of succession to the Nepalese throne from his birth until the monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 after 2008 Constituent Assembly election.

In August 2006 before the monarchy was abolished, the Nepalese government adopted a bill to replace the Agnatic succession law with equal primogeniture. The House of Representatives subsequently approved the bill. Had the bill become law, Prince Hridayendra would've been relegated to third in the line of succession with his older sister Princess Purnika being elevated to second.[7]

In February 2007, there was speculation in Nepal that Prince Hridayendra's father and grandfather would make way for him to take the throne.[8] In July 2007, the Nepalese prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala repeated calls for the King and crown prince to abdicate in favour of Prince Hridayendra[9] though this was rejected by the Maoists.[10]

On December 24, 2007 it was announced that Nepal is set to abolish the monarchy in 2008 after the Constituent Assembly elections.[11] This took place on 28 May 2008 when the monarchy was officially abolished, replaced by secular federal republic.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Nepal votes to abolish monarchy. BBC (2008-05-28). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  2. ^ "Nepalese crown princess gives birth", Asian Political News, 2002-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-07-31. 
  3. ^ Pradhan, Suman (2002-08-10). New heir heralds public acceptance of Nepal royals. Times of India. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  4. ^ Buyers, Christopher. Royal Ark, Nepal. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  5. ^ Poudel, Keshab (2003-01-17). Ritual Of Harmony. Nepalnews.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  6. ^ Patrika, Naya (2007-06-19). Little King. Nepali Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  7. ^ Days in Nepali History, vol. 1, Nepali Aawaz, pp. 3, <http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/nepali_aawaz/Nepali_Aawaz_01_17.pdf>. Retrieved on 2007-07-31 
  8. ^ King to quit Nepal?. India enews (2007-02-07). Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  9. ^ Nepal baby prince's baptism by fire. Times of India (2007-06-20). Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  10. ^ Page, Jeremy. "Envoys snub king’s birthday party", The Times, 2007-07-06. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 
  11. ^ Nepalese monarchy to be abolished. BBC (2007-12-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.

[edit] External links

Prince Hridayendra of Nepal
Born: 30 July 2002
Nepalese royalty
Preceded by
Paras, Crown Prince of Nepal		 Line of succession to the Nepalese Throne
2nd position		 Last in line
Persondata
NAME Hridayendra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shah Dev, Hridayendra Bir Bikram
SHORT DESCRIPTION Second in line to the Nepalese throne
DATE OF BIRTH 30 July 2002
PLACE OF BIRTH Kathmandu, Nepal
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages