She was the daughter of Arjan Singh Sahib, Raja of Chhatara, Barhgaon and
Oudh and his wife, Krishnavati Devi Sahiba of the British colony. She was married (at a young age in an arranged custom) at the
Narayanhity Royal Palace,
Kathmandu, in March 1919, to King
Tribhuvan of Nepal as his first wife [senior wife], in a double ceremony with her younger sister
Ishwari, as the king's second wife [junior wife]. Both Kanti and Tribhuvan were just 13 years old when she bore their first child,
Mahendra, on 11 June 1920. In 1948,
Erica Leuchtag, a German physiotherapist, who had been serving the royal family of
Patiala was invited to treat Queen Kanti. Leuchtag also treated the King and reportedly befriended many members of the Nepali royal family including the junior Queen Ishwari and the princesses
Nalini, Vijaya and Bharati inside the
Narayanhiti Palace during her time in Nepal when the royal family was not allowed to leave the palace by the
Rana rulers. This account has been detailed in Leuchtag’s book Erica and the King. During the reign of
King Mahendra, the Queen Mothers Kanti and Ishwari wished to establish a university in Nepal to meet the needs of the nation as the existing colleges were affiliated with
Patna University of
India and thus adhered to its prescribed courses, policies and rules. As such, the University Commission was established on March 31, 1956 with the senior Queen Mother Kanti serving as the Chairperson and the junior Queen Mother Ishwari serving as the Vice Chairperson. The two Queen Mothers laid the foundation stone on June 25, 1958 and personally donated 375 ropanis of land in
Lalitpur designated for their widowhood by their late husband King Tribhuvan. As a result,
Tribhuvan University was established in June 25, 1959. == Issue ==