KATHMANDU: Nepali nationals are used to seeing statements from the Secretariat of Nepal's former King Gyanendra Shah that called him 'His Majesty the King' even after the abolition of the monarchy 17 years ago.
Late Sunday evening, the tradition was broken as the former King himself stated on the occasion of the Dashain (Dussehra) festival, the biggest festival for Nepal's Hindu population, that he will now be known as the 'former His Majesty the King'.
In the statement issued from the Nirmal Niwas, the residence of the former King, Shah called for timely reforms in the state system while respecting the sentiments of the people.
Given that a new apolitical government has been formed in the country following the Gen-Z protests on September 8 and 9, the former monarch stressed that the aspirations and desires of the new generation must be embraced by the governance system.
Many are wondering why the former monarch, who was ousted from the palace in 2008, continued to refer to himself as ‘His Majesty the King’ for 17 years and suddenly began to call himself an ex-King from Sunday evening.
Nepal's first constituent assembly, formed after the 2006 uprising against the then King’s rule, had voted to abolish monarchy in May 2008.
Rajan Karki, one of the aides of the former King, stated that the Secretariat of the former King had previously agreed with the police not to call him as 'Shree Panch Maharajadhiraj' (His Majesty the King).
In July, the local police had interrogated Phanindra Pathak, Communication Secretary of former King Shah, questioning why Pathak used the title 'Shree Panch Maharajadhiraj' which is not recognised by Nepal's Constitution, and referred to the office as a 'communication secretariat' which is also not recognised by the Constitution.