page_title: Birendra of Nepal
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Birendra of Nepal / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah with Sher Bahadur Deuba (left) and others
context_page_description: Birendra Bir Bikram Shah was the King of Nepal from 1972 until 2001. The eldest son of King Mahendra, he reigned until his death in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre.
context_section_description: King Birendra was born at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace in Kathmandu as the eldest son of the then Crown Prince Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and his first wife, Crown Princess Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi.
  Birendra spent eight years studying at St Joseph's School, a Jesuit school in Darjeeling, with his brother Gyanendra. On 13 March 1955 their grandfather King Tribhuvan died, and their father succeeded to the Nepalese throne. With his father's ascension Birendra became the Crown Prince of Nepal.
  In 1959, Birendra enrolled at Eton College in the United Kingdom. After studying at Eton until 1964, he returned to Nepal where he began to explore the country by travelling on foot to the remote parts of the country where he lived on whatever was available in the villages and monasteries. He later completed his education by spending some time at the University of Tokyo, before studying political theory at Harvard University from 1967 to 1968. Birendra enjoyed traveling in his youth, and went on trips to Canada, Latin America, Africa, many parts of India, and a number of other Asian countries. He was also an art collector and supporter of Nepalese crafts people and artists, and learnt to fly helicopters.
  Birendra was married to Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi from the Rana family, his second cousin, on 27 February 1970. The wedding, which was billed as one of the most lavish Hindu nuptial ceremonies in history, cost $9.5 million to stage. King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya had three children:
  Prince Dipendra (27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001)
  Princess Shruti (15 October 1976 – 1 June 2001)
  Prince Nirajan (6 November 1978 – 1 June 2001)
caption: King Birendra Bikram Shah Dev
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