Who was Prince Dipendra’s girlfriend Devyani Rana?

More than two decades have passed since the Nepalese Royal Massacre occurred at Narayanhiti Palace on 1 June 2001, but the mystery behind the event is yet unsolved. 

There are many conspiracy theories regarding the dark day that wiped out the whole family of the beloved King Birendra, and six other royal members.

Some claimed the lovelorn heir to the throne wanted to marry Devyani Rana, the daughter of a wealthy Indian family. But, his parents opposed his decision which ultimately caused the event. 

Devyani Rana Biography

Born in 1971, Devyani Rana is one of the daughters of  Rani Usha Raje Scindia and Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur, the former Minister of Panchayat and Local Development. 

Her maternal grandparents are Aishwarya Singh and Jivajirao Scindia, who was the last maharaja of Gwalior state (present-day Madhya Pradesh). Whereas, Maharaja Mohan Sumsher Jung Bahadur Rana was her parental great-grandpa.

Devyani went to Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, a private boarding Welham Girls School, Dehradun, Ajmer City of India. Then, she attended Lady Shriram College affiliated with the University of Delhi. Rana did her MA from Kathmandu University. 

She formerly served as the Director of Public Affairs for Nepal, India, and Bhutan at Caterpillar Inc. Her portfolio also includes associations with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Switzerland World Economic Forum (WEF), and United Nations (UN) in India.

In July 2021, Rana was appointed to Coca-Cola India as the Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability for India and Southwest Asia.

How Crown Prince Dipendra Met Devyani?

From 1987 to 1990, Dipendra stayed in England for higher studies. During that time, Sir Jeremy Bagge (7th Baronet) was his local guardian. Shah and Bagge’s son Charles was studying at Eton College.

Charles’ sister Shelley was a good friend of Rana who was also doing her higher education in England. That’s how Dipendra’s path crossed with Devyani at Bagges’ residence in Norfolk.

At first sight, the Prince of Nepal developed feelings for Devyani and proposed to her for marriage. On the other hand, Shah’s parents, particularly his mom Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah, were against their relationship. 

More On Their love life 

Dipendra was madly in love with Devyani, but his parents, unaware of his relationship, were looking for a bride for the prince. 

As per reports, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya had short-listed three ladies Garima Rana, Supriya Shah, and Devyani Rana, for their son’s marriage.

Based on the report of the New York Post published on 14 June 2001, Dipendra’s parents suggested that marrying Supriya (his former Royal girlfriend) would be suitable for the prince- and keeping Devyani as his mistress.

Per the statement of survivors, Dipendra had accepted the proposal of his parents. However, when he shared the plan with Devyan, she denied it. After that, he reportedly ended up in a week-long excessive drinking and drug addiction.

His parent’s objection to his marriage with Devyani resulted in the massacre of the Nepalese royal family. Following the tragedy, Rana immediately fled to India to escape from the press attention.

Other reports claim that the Queen was opposed to her son’s marriage with Devyani due to her dad’s political affairs, and her marital side of grandparents being lower-class royal of India.

In reality, Rana’s Gwalior family was a reputed and richest former royal of India, and they were several times wealthier than the Nepalese Royal family. Reports say Devyani’s mother didn’t want her daughter to marry Dipendra as she worried about downgrading her living standard.