Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955), was the King of Nepal from 1911 until his death in 1955, excluding a brief period of exile between November 1950 and January 1951.

Born in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, he ascended to the throne at the age of five, upon the death of his father, Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah, and was crowned on 20 February 1913 at the Nasal Chowk, Hanuman Dhoka Palace in Kathmandu, with his mother acting as regent. Green was his favorite color. Many of his ornaments, keys, gifts, clothes had the word "T" inscribed on them. He frequently ordered by mail through mail order catalogs. He smoked Lucky Strike cigarettes.

Tribhuvan was summoned to Singha Durbar every Thursday and kept waiting for hours for a visit with the Rana Prime Minister.

Family

left|thumb|Coronation of Tribhuvan; aged five|200x200px

Tribhuvan was born on 30 June 1906 to Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah and Divyeshwari Lakshmi Devi Shah. After the death of his father, Tribhuvan ascended the throne on 11 December 1911, at the age of five. Queen Mother Divyeshwari Lakshmi Devi was appointed regent until Tribhuvan came of age.

He married at age 12 in a double ceremony. He married first at the Narayanhity Palace in March 1919 to Kanti. The same day he also married Kanti's sister Ishwari. He also had junior wives.

left|thumb|259x259px|King Tribhuvan and sons; King Mahendra, Prince Basundhara, and Prince Himalaya Pratap

His first child and successor to the throne, Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, was born when both Tribhuvan and his wife, Queen Kanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah, were just 13 years old, on 11 June 1920.

Later life

Tensions between the royal family and the Ranas began during World War I. The Ranas wanted to join the war in support of Britain. The Shahs were reluctant and wished to remain neutral. The then prime minister, Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, pressured the young king and threatened his mother, eventually forcing Tribhuvan to order the troops to war.

  • Subarna Shamsher Rana- (even though a Rana, he represented the Nepali Congress) – Finance.
  • Ganesh Man Singh – Commerce and Industry
  • Bharatmani Sharma – Food and Agriculture
  • Bhadrakali Mishra – Transport.

This cabinet was reshuffled on 10 June 1951 to replace Baber Shamsher by Shangha Shamsher and Bharatmani Sharma by Surya Prasad Upadhyaya. This cabinet was dissolved in November 1951 and Matrika Prasad Koirala became the new prime minister.

Death

Tribhuvan died at 3pm (GMT +2) March 9, 1955 at a clinic in Zürich, Switzerland. He was 49. His body was taken away from the clinic at 7:15pm, March 16 to the airport en route to Gauchar, Kathmandu. He was succeeded by his eldest legitimate son, Mahendra. All his legitimate children were born from these unions.

Children born to Queen Kanti

Tribhuvan married Kanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (1906–1973) in 1919; she was crowned senior queen consort. They had five children:

  • King Mahendra of Nepal (11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972). He succeeded his father as king and was married first to Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah and later to Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah. He had children by his first wife.
  • Prince Himalaya of Nepal (12 October 1921 – 2 May 1980). He married Princep Rajya Lakshmi Devi. The couple had no children.
  • Princess Trilokya (1922 – 1990). She married Hardyal Singh, the prince of Sikar in India, and adopted a son.
  • Princess Vijaya (1925 – 1992). She never married.
  • Princess Bharati (1927 – 2020). She married Pradeep Chandra Bhanj Deo, the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, and had children.

Children born to Queen Ishwari

Tribhuvan’s second wife was Ishwari Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (1907–1983), a sister of his first wife. They married in a double ceremony. She was crowned junior queen consort in 1919. They had two children:

  • Prince Basundhara of Nepal (4 November 1921 – 31 August 1977). He married Helen Rajya Lakshmi Devi and had issue.
  • Princess Nalini (1924 – 2020). She married Raja Shiv Rattan Dev Singh of Poonch and had children.

Honours

; National

  • Sovereign of the Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
  • Sovereign of the Order of Nepal Taradisha
  • Sovereign of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu
  • Sovereign of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta

;Foreign

  • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Supreme Sun, 1 March 1950
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Italian Republic, 16 October 1954
  • Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 1954

Ancestry

In addition to his Thakuri royal lineage from Prithvi Narayan Shah, he is also a descendant of popular personalities such as Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, Kaji Tularam Pande, Sardar Ramakrishna Kunwar and Kaji General Amar Singh Thapa, after the Rana dynasty arranged a way to marry into the royal family.

Notes

References

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