Princess Shruti of Nepal

Princess Shruti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah of Nepal (Nepali: श्रुती राज्य लक्ष्मी देवी शाह) (15 October 1976 – 1 June 2001) was the daughter of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, and sister of King Dipendra and Prince Nirajan. Princess Shruti was widely regarded by the public as a compassionate and approachable figure, earning her the affectionate nickname of 'the people's princess' in Nepal.

Princess Shruti
Born	(1976-10-15)15 October 1976 Narayanhiti Royal Palace, Kathmandu, Kingdom of Nepal
Died	1 June 2001(2001-06-01) (aged 24) King Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni, Kingdom of Nepal
Cause of death	Assassination (gunshot wounds)
Spouse	Kumar Gorakh Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana ​ ​ (m. 1997)​
Issue	Girwani Rajya Lakshmi Rana Surangana Rajya Lakshmi Rana
Names Shruti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah
House	Shah dynasty (by birth) Rana dynasty (by marriage)
Father	King Birendra
Mother	Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah
Religion	Hinduism

Princess Shruti of Nepal was known for her active engagement in social and humanitarian causes during her brief lifetime. As a member of the Nepalese royal family, she participated in various charitable activities, with a focus on education, children’s welfare, and women’s empowerment. She supported initiatives aimed at improving access to schooling for underprivileged children in rural Nepal and was involved in programs that promoted skill development and self-reliance among women. Passionate about Nepalese culture, Princess Shruti also contributed to the preservation of traditional arts and music. Her philanthropic work, though limited by her untimely death, is remembered as part of her enduring legacy.

Education

Princess Shruti studied at Kanti Ishwari Sishu Vidhyalaya in Tripureswar, Nepal, St. Mary's School in Kathmandu, Nepal, and later at Mayo College Girls School in Ajmer, India. She completed her bachelor's degree at Padma Kanya Campus in Nepal.

She was a meritorious painter.^{[citation needed]}

Marriage and family

She was married to Kumar Gorakh Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, a member of the aristocratic Rana family of Nepal, descendants of Maharaja Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana through the Field Marshal Sir Kaiser Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. He is head of Global Banking and Commercial Banking for Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited.^[1]

They married on 7 May 1997 in Kathmandu. They had two daughters:

• Girwani Rajya Lakshmi Rana (born on 22 June 1998 at Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital in Kathmandu).^{[citation needed]}
• Surangana Rajya Lakshmi Rana (born on 21 October 2000 at Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital in Kathmandu).^{[citation needed]}

On 5 December 2008 in Kathmandu, Kumar Gorakh Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana married Deepti Chand, a humanities student at Kathmandu's Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, who is also the niece of former royalist prime minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.^[2]

The name Shruti means "that which is heard".

Death

Princess Shruti, her mother, father, and brother Nirajan, and six other Royal relatives were killed in the Nepalese royal massacre on 1 June 2001.^{[3][citation needed]}

Honours

National Honours

• Member First Class of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu (29/12/1995).^{[citation needed]}
• Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Birendra (31/01/1997).^{[citation needed]}
• Bisista Sewa Padak [Special Service Medal] (1999).^{[citation needed]}

Foreign Honours

• France : Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour (20/09/1994).^{[citation needed]}
• Germany : Dame Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (25/11/1996).^{[citation needed]}

Ancestry

Ancestors of Princess Shruti of Nepal
8. King Tribhuvan of Nepal 4. King Mahendra of Nepal 9. Kanti Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah 2. King Birendra of Nepal 10. Hari Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 5. Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi 11. Megha Kumari Rajya Laxmi 1. Princess Shruti Shah of Nepal 12. Agni Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana 6. Kendra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana 3. Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi 14. N. Bikram Shah 7. Shree Rajya Laxmi Rana