The Royal Family 2001 - 2008: Profiles King Gyanendra: A profile Queen Komal: A profile Crown Prince Paras: A profile Crown Princess Himani: A profile

King Gyanendra

He loves sports, knows all his long lost school friends' names by heart and is poetic in nature. He is none other than His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev. "With his common touch during his school days, we never felt he was a Prince," says a former classmate. Paras did his Junior High from North Point, Darjeeling and High School from Budhanilkanta School, Kathmandu.

Paras, Batch number 292B, was regarded as a helpful friend who shared his joys and sorrows reminisces another classmates. The school catered to people from all classes of society and he definitely moulded himself to that environment, considering himself one among them. "He was a pleasant boy, well disciplined and always an enthusiastic student but was in poor health," states the Principal of Budhanilkantha School.

A teacher remembers a gathering where he addressed Paras with the title of Prince and how he was told to refer to him only as Paras. Given his leadership qualities, he was made a prefect at Annapurna House. This fits in well with his subsequently being conferred the Suprashidda Prabala Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, The Coronation Medal 1975, The Silver Jubilee Medal 1999 and The Bishista Sewa Medal 1998.

After High School, he proceeded towards Schiller International University and The United Kingdom for further studies in Business Administration. His taste in music runs to the rock and heavy metal of Metallica and Guns and Roses and in sports he's into swimming and basketball. He's also a keen player in Chess and Monolpoly. Before being proclaimed Crown Prince, he had been involved with the Central Zoo for 6 years and recently became Coordinator of the Zoo Development Committee of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC).

With regular visits to the zoo, he gave guidance and directions about the work there, according to the Director of the Central Zoo. Family visits to the zoo show his ardent love for wildlife and fascination with its almost endless variety. He is a true nature conservationist, adds the Zoo Director. With his proclamation as Crown Prince, he has definitely changed. He has been working hard to understand the nitty gritty of state affairs whether it meant going over the daily affairs of the country or meeting people from different walks of life. Taking advice from the friends and relatives has always been his prior concern, say close associates. Apart from his involvement in state affairs, he is also a family man.

He was married on January 27,2000 to Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Himani Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah who comes from a princely family in India's Rajasthan State. They have a daughter, Purnika, who has been conferred the title of as Yubarajkumari. The Crown Prince is a good husband and a loving father, friends say.

Paras rather liked fast cars and night life and this had stamped him with a drunken party animal image. He was accused of killing a popular folk singer after hit and run incident last August. He had the typical profile of a rich spoilt brat without any responsibility on his shoulders. Those who know him say given his new status as future king, he will definitely change and prove himself in the betterment of the country.

January 2004 Former Royal Couple: Official visit in India Crown prince Paras, Crown Princess Himani and Yubarajkumari Purnika in front of the historic Taj Mahal in Agra, India Official Photo: Department of Information