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Ramesh Menon
The funerals of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Queen Aishwarya, their son, Prince Niranjan, daughter Princess Shruti and the monarch's first cousin will be conducted on Saturday evening. The family was slain on Friday evening.
They will be cremated with full honours at the Pashupati Arya Ghat in Kathmandu.
Kathmandu-based historian Pratyoush Omta told rediff.com: "The general mood in Nepal is one of utmost shock and disbelief. There is a lot of confusion on what happened. There is not a single consistent story coming out. The people and the media are trying to piece together a narrative of what happened in the royal palace, but there are too many gaps and so it is difficult to believe any version."
The funeral procession will travel from the military hospital to the south gate of the royal palace and then to the Pashupati Arya Ghat after moving through various areas. The procession will leave the hospital and go through Swayambhu, Shovabhagwati, Chattrapati, Thamel, Kamal Pokhari and Gynaneshwar.
According to Nepalese royal tradition, the workers at the cremation ghat, and not a member of the royal family, will perform the last rites.
PTI adds:
A five-day state mourning was declared in Nepal over the assassination of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya as a grief-stricken kingdom made arrangements for the cremation of the royal couple and others shot dead in a gruesome tragedy by Crown Prince Dipendra.
No foreign dignitaries have been invited for the funeral. Even ambassadors of various countries have not been invited to attend the last rites near the famous Pashupatinath temple.
The national flag will fly at half mast for 15 days as a mark of respect to the royal couple.
Thousands of people have lined up the 10 km route from the Birendra hospital, where the bodies have been kept, to the cremation site.
As a pall of gloom descended on the capital, reports from commercial towns Birganj, Biratnagar and Bhairva in the valley spoke of unrest with anguished and agitated people blocking the flow of traffic.
The Indian government has announced a three-day State mourning as a mark of respect for the king and his family.
Death of a Monarch: The Complete Coverage
EXTERNAL LINKS The Constitution of Nepal All about Nepal Laws of Nepal The Cabinet Information on Nepal The World Factbook: Nepal Nepal News The Nepal Media Nepal Home Page Government and Politics Directory Political History Embassy of India Embassy World New York Times: Royal Family of Nepal Are Killed in Palace Shooting
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