Accession On 1 June 2001, Birendra and several other members of the royal family were assassinated by Gyanendra's nephew
Crown Prince Dipendra, who later shot himself. Dipendra was now legally the king but lay in a coma, so Gyanendra served as regent until Dipendra's death on 4 June, upon which Gyanendra was crowned king again. He vowed to launch an investigation into the massacre shortly after his accession. The massacre and the ensuing investigation proved very controversial. A two-man investigation team appointed by Gyanendra and made up of
Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, then Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Nepal, and
Taranath Ranabhat, then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, carried out a week-long investigation. After interviewing more than 100 people—including eyewitnesses, palace officials, guards, and staff—they concluded that Dipendra had indeed carried out the massacre, but they drew no further conclusions.
Political crisis During his early years on the throne, Gyanendra sought to exercise full control over the government, citing the failure of all the political parties to hold an election after the parliament was dissolved. In May 2002, he supported the popularly elected Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba but in October 2002, he dismissed Deuba and consolidated his power for the first time. His elder brother King Birendra had negotiated a
constitutional monarchy during his rule in a delicate manner in which he, as king, played a minor role in government. Thus, Gyanendra's confrontational approach with the established political parties met with widespread censure. During the years 2002 to 2005 he chose and subsequently dismissed three prime ministers for failure to hold elections and bring the
rebels to a round table negotiation. On 1 February 2005, he dismissed Prime Minister
Sher Bahadur Deuba's government for failing to make arrangements for parliamentary elections and being unable to restore peace in the country, which was then in the midst of a
civil war led by
Maoist insurgents. Although Gyanendra promised that "peace and effective democracy" would be restored within three years, the period of direct rule was accompanied by repression of dissent. International organizations expressed grave concerns about the
safety of journalists, following the king's decision to restrict civil liberties, including freedom of the press, the constitutional protection against censorship and the right against preventive detention. In April 2006, the seven-party alliance and the then banned CPN Maoist party staged
protests and strikes in
Kathmandu against King Gyanendra's direct rule. The royal government exercised minimum restraint but declared a curfew to control the deteriorating situation, which was enforced with live firearms and tear gas. After 23 protesters were killed, on 21 April 2006, King Gyanendra announced that he would yield executive authority to a new prime minister chosen by the political parties to oversee the return of democracy. Several party leaders rejected the offer and again demanded that the King call a council to determine the monarchy's future role in politics. An agreement was reached between the parties under the supervision of the Indian ruling Congress that the monarchy would have a place in the new constitution.
Girija Prasad Koirala was appointed Prime Minister in the interim and, as the main leader, had talks with the King for the agreement of the monarchy's position. As such, on 24 April 2006, Gyanendra reinstated the previous parliament in a televised address to the nation.
End of direct rule The agreement between the parties and Gyanendra under Indian supervision was not honored by the parties. It is widely believed that the then Prime Minister
Girija Prasad Koirala was deeply convinced that as long as Gyanendra remained in the power structure, there was always danger to the democratic order in Nepal. On 10 June 2006, the Parliament scrapped the major powers of the King, including his right to veto laws. This ended the idea of a "King in Parliament", and he was reduced to a figurehead, though for a time he continued to offer felicitations and to receive diplomats. According to Article 167 of the constitution, all executive powers as well as those enjoyed by the King in the previous Constitution were now vested in the prime minister. All powers of the 239-year-old monarchy were stripped, making Gyanendra a civilian king. On 15 January 2007, the interim parliament was set up with the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) included, and on 1 April 2007, the interim government joined by the Communist Party was formed. Prime Minister Koirala, who had previously supported the continuation of the monarchy, said in March 2007 that he thought Gyanendra should step down. In June, Koirala repeated his call for Gyanendra to abdicate in favor of his grandson
Prince Hridayendra. On 23 August 2007, Nepal's transitional government nationalized all the properties Gyanendra inherited from his brother, including the
Narayanhiti Royal Palace. The move did not affect the properties he owned before his accession to the throne. == Abolition of the monarchy ==