Devyani Rana

Devyani Rana
Spouse	Aishwarya Singh
Father	Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana
Mother	Usharaje Scindia (Member of Scindia family of Gwalior)

Devyani Rana was the prospective fiancée of the Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal. She is the daughter of Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana and Usharaje Scindia, of the Gwalior royal family. Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana is the president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), one of the democratic political parties of Nepal.

Family

Devyani is a member of the Rana dynasty via her father. Her mother Usharaje Scindia is from the Gwalior royal family. She has only one sibling, a sister. The Shah family of Nepalese kings had a history of animosity towards the Rana family, which had served as hereditary prime ministers of Nepal until 1951, with the title Maharaja. Nonetheless, Shah kings and princes have married almost exclusively A Class Rana family members.

Proposed engagement

Dipendra was in England between 1987 and 1990, and his local guardian was Baronet Jeremy Bagge,^[1] whose son Charles was also at Eton. Jeremy's daughter Shelly was a friend of Devyani who was also studying in England at the time.^[2] Dipendra and Devyani met at the Bagges' Norfolk home, and Dipendra quickly fell in love with her and asked to marry her. However, Dipendra's parents, and especially his mother Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Rana, opposed the marriage. Devyani's friends also began to suspect Dipendra was hitting her, although she denied it.^[3][2] According to published reports, the refusal of Dipendra's parents to consent to this marriage was the cause of the massacre of the royal family in Nepal.^{[citation needed]}

Post massacre

Devyani Rana fled to India immediately after the royal massacre to escape media attention. Rana married a Royal from the erstwhile state of Churhat^[4] - Kunwar Aishwarya Singh, the grandson of Indian Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh (prince of the Churhat family), on 22 February 2007. The wedding brought together royalty from all over India, prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and 5,000 other guests.^[5] The wedding ceremony was attended by HH Maharaja Gaj Singh ll of Jodhpur, HH Maharaja Dr. Karan Singh of Kashmir, and royalty from Mysore, Jaipur and Kapurthala, all wearing traditional Indian finery and carrying bejeweled swords. Bhutan’s former King Jigme Singye Wangchuk was also there.^[6] Rana went on to get a second Masters Degree from the London School of Economics in 2004 and currently works for the United Nations Development Programme. She has a son who was born in 2010.

References

1. ^ Eton's royal connection BBC News, 2 June 2001
2. ^ ^{a b} Dipendra and Devyani Nepali Times, 20 June 2001
3. ^ Amy Willesee & Mark Whittaker (2004). Love & Death in Kathmandu A Strange Tale of Royal Murder, 1st U.S. ed. New York : St. Martin's Press, 2004. ISBN 1-84413-558-6 / 1-84413-558-6
4. ^ CHURHAT (Thikana)
5. ^ Five thousand at Indian wedding BBC News, 3 February 2007
6. ^ Royals from across India troop in for Devyani Rana’s wedding The Indian Express, 24 February 2007

Persondata
Name	Rana, Devyani
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