Komal (Nepali: कोमल राज्य लक्ष्मी देवी शाह) (born 18 February 1951) is a member of the Nepalese royal family who was the last Queen of Nepal as the wife of King Gyanendra of Nepal until the monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008. She is also known by the name Komal Shah.
Life
Komal was born in Bagmati, Kathmandu into the Rana family, the daughter of Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1927–1982) and his wife Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (1928–2005).[citation needed] Komal's older sister Aishwarya was married to King Birendra of Nepal, the brother of Gyanendra. Aishwarya was killed in the palace massacre on 1 June 2001. Komal sustained bullet injuries as a result of the palace shooting and spent four weeks recovering in hospital.[1]
She was educated at St Mary's School, Jawalakhel, St Helen's Convent, Kurseong, India and Kalanidhi Sangeet Mahavidhyalaya, Kathmandu.
Komal's younger sister Prekshya also married into the Shah dynasty marrying Gyanendra and Birendra's brother Prince Dhirendra who was also killed in the palace massacre. They had divorced in 1991.[citation needed] Prekshya was killed in a helicopter crash on 12 November 2001.
Queen Komal married her second cousin Prince Gyanendra of Nepal on 1 May 1970 in Kathmandu. They have two children:
Paras Shah (born on 30 December 1971 in Kathmandu)