Princess Helen Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah of Nepal (; 21 September 1932–12 September 2007) was a member of the former Nepalese royal family. Princess Helen Shah was the wife of Prince Basundhara of Nepal, a son of King Tribhuvan of Nepal and his second wife, Queen Ishwari.

Life

Princess Helen Shah was born at the

Bahadur Bhawan Bahadur Bhawan (initially known as Char Burja Durbar) is a Rana palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace was built by Bir Shumsher JBR and rebuilt by Rudra Shumsher JBR after its destruction by fire in BS 1962. History The palace ...

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. She was the younger daughter of General Nara Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, KCVO, sometime Inspector-General of the Royal Nepal Police, by his first wife, Uma Rajya Lakshmi, of

Doti Doti (), also known as Dotigarh (डोटीगढ़) or the Far-Western Development Region was a development region of Nepal situated between River Kali bordering Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, India in the west and the Karnali river on t ...

. She married Prince Basundhara on June 17, 1945 in

. They had three children: *

Princess Jayanti of Nepal Princess Jayanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah of Nepal (4 August 1946 – 1 June 2001) was a member of the Nepalese royal family. She was a granddaughter of King Tribhuvan of Nepal. An active social worker, she was known for her contributions to cance ...

(1946–2001), she was killed in the

Nepalese royal massacre The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on the night of 1 June 2001, at the Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, the residence of the House of Shah, the Shah dynasty, royal family of Nepal. During a private gathering of the royal family, Crown Princ ...

. *Mrs. Ketaki Chester (born on 14 January 1948 in

), she renounced her title on her second marriage to a British airline pilot. * Princess Jyotshana of Nepal. Princess Helen Shah was the chairperson of

Nepal Red Cross Society Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS; ) is an independent, volunteer-based and humanitarian organization that delivers humanitarian service and support to the vulnerable people in an impartial and neutral manner. It came into being on 4 September 1963. N ...

from 1981 to 1990. From 1977 to 1990, she was a member of

Rajsabha Rajsabha (ne:राजसभा Nepali for "The King's Council") was a constitutional body in the Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the ...

. She worked to promote tourism and raised awareness about women's rights. On the evening of June 1, 2001, ten members of the Nepalese royal family were murdered, reportedly by the

Crown Prince Dipendra Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev () (27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001) was King of Nepal for three days from 1 to 4 June 2001. For the duration of his three-day reign he was in a coma after the shooting of his father King Birendra, his mother Queen Ai ...

. Princess Jayanti, the eldest daughter of Princess Helen, was one of the ten people who died. Princess Helen's second daughter, Ketaki, was also wounded, but survived. During the massacre, Princess Helen Shah was with her sister-in-law, Queen Mother Ratna (the widow of

King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972. He led the 1960 Nepal coup d'état, 1960 coup d'état, in which he dismissed the government, jailed other political ...

), in the anteroom, and thus the two women survived. They heard the gunshots but did not take them seriously. A few minutes later, Prince Paras came and told the two women what had happened. Princess Helen Shah established the Jayanti Memorial Trust (JMT) in memory of her eldest daughter Princess Jayanti, who was killed in the royal massacre. The trust works to fight against cardiac diseases. Princess Jayanti had worked hard to help heart patients and making cardiac treatment more affordable and reachable to the common people of Nepal. Princess Helen owned Hotel de l'Annapurna, one of the five-star hotels in the capital, the travel agency "Yeti Travels" and a resort in

Pokhara Pokhara ( ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city located in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. Named the country's "capital of tourism" it is the List of cities in Nepal, second largest city after Kathmandu, with 599,5 ...

, Fishtail Lodge, which was frequently targeted by the Maoist guerrillas during the decade-old insurgency. Princess Helen Shah, the widow of Prince Basundhara, died of cancer on September 12, 2007 at the King Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni. Her older sister Princep married Prince Himalaya of Nepal.

Honours

National

* Member of the Order of Om Rama Patta (23 October 2001). * Member of the Order of the Three Divine Powers, 1st class. * Member of the Order of the Gurkha Right Hand, 1st class (24 February 1975). * King Mahendra Coronation Medal (2 May 1956). * King Birendra Coronation Medal (24 February 1975). * Daibi Prakop Piditoddhar Padak atural Disaster Management Medal * Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of King Birendra (31 January 1997). * King Gyanendra Investiture Medal (4 June 2001).

Foreign

* : Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Shah of Nepal, Princess Nepalese princesses Nepalese royalty 1932 births 2007 deaths Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Members of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, First Class Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class People from Kathmandu 21st-century Nepalese nobility 20th-century Nepalese nobility Nepalese Hindus