| Mahendra Chain Mahendra Mala Manapadvi | |
|---|---|
| Type | Order |
| Awarded for | Reigning foreign Sovereigns |
| Presented by |  Nepal |
| Established | 26 February 1961 |
| First awarded | 1961 |
| Last awarded | 2001 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | None |
| Equivalent | Birendra Chain |
| Next (lower) | Nepal Pratap Bhaskara |
The Most Glorious Mahendra Chain (Mahendra Mala Manapadvi) is a royal decoration of Nepal.
It was instituted on 26 February 1961 by the King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.
It is awarded in only one class, the Chain, to reigning sovereigns.
Tribhuwan Bir Bikram Shah was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his death. 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. At the time of his crowning, the position of monarch was largely ceremonial, with the real governing power residing with the Rana family.
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was King of Nepal from 1955 to 1972. Mahendra was born on 11 June 1920 to King Tribhuvan of Nepal. Although Tribhuvan was nominally king since 1911, the royal family had been held captive in Narayanhity Palace since the rise of the prominent Rana dynasty. In 1940 he married Indra Rajya Lakshmi Devi, daughter of General Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. Mahendra had three sons, Birendra, Gyanendra, and Dhirendra and three daughters Shanti, Sharada, and Shobha. Crown Princess Indra died in 1950. In 1952, Mahendra married Indra's younger sister, Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi. This marriage produced no children as King Mahendra had married on the condition his personal life shall not hinder his national duties and the to be queen agreed to be childless.
Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the 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, having shot himself in the head after a killing rampage he directed against his extended family.
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the King of Nepal from 1972 until 2001. As the eldest son of King Mahendra, he reigned until his death by assassination in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre.
Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev reigned as the King of Nepal from 2001 to 2008. As a child, he was briefly king from 1950 to 1951, when his grandfather, Tribhuvan, went into exile in India with the rest of his family. His second reign began after the 2001 Nepalese royal Massacre. He was deposed by the first session of the Constituent Assembly on 28 May 2008, thereby declaring the nation as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and abolishing the 240-year reign of the Shah Dynasty.
Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah was the Queen of Nepal from 1972 to 2001, also referred as Bada Maharani (बडामहारानी). She was the wife of King Birendra and the mother of King Dipendra, Prince Nirajan, and Princess Shruti. She was the eldest among the three daughters of late General Kendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Shree Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah in Lazimpat Durbar, Lazimpat, Kathmandu.
General elections were held in Nepal on 12 May 1991, to elect 205 members to the House of Representatives. The elections were the first multi-party elections since 1959. The 1990 Nepalese revolution successfully made King Birendra to restore a multi-party system after King Mahendra had established the Rastriya Panchayat when he dissolved the parliament on December 1960.
Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah is a member of the Nepalese Royal Family who was Queen consort of Nepal from 1955 to 1972 and Queen Mother from 1972 to 2008 when the royal family were stripped of all titles and privileges. She is the second wife of King Mahendra (1920–1972). Ratna belongs to the aristocratic Rana family and is the daughter of Field Marshal Hari Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and his wife, Megha Kumari Rajya Lakshmi.
Komal Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah is the wife of King Gyanendra of Nepal. She was the last Queen consort of Nepal before the Monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008.
Tulsi Giri was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1975 to 1977, and chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1963, and again in 1964 and 1965. He was born in Siraha District, Nepal in 1926. Tulsi was a Minister in the Congress government of 1959−1960 before its dissolution by King Mahendra. He became the first Prime Minister following the two-year period of Mahendra's direct rule. He studied at the Suri Vidyasagar College, when it was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. He received a medical degree prior to entering politics.
The Narayanhiti Palace Museum is a public museum in Kathmandu, Nepal located east of the Kaiser Mahal and next to Thamel. The museum was created in 2008 from the complex of the former Narayanhiti Palace following the 2006 revolution. Before the revolution, the palace was the residence and principal workplace of the monarch of the Kingdom of Nepal, and hosted occasions of state.
Prince Dhirendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva of Nepal was the youngest son of King Mahendra of Nepal and his first wife, Crown Princess Indra.
Ratna Park is a park and surrounding district in central Kathmandu, Nepal. It is named after Queen Ratna, the wife of King Mahendra. It was built for the children and is named after Ratna, the second queen of King Mahendra. It is situated between Rani Pokhari and Tudikhel in the heart of Kathmandu.
Panchayat was partyless political system incepted by King Mahendra by sideling the Nepali Congress government of B. P. Koirala on 15th December 1960 AD. He introduced the partyless Panchayat system on 5th January 1961 AD. Under his direct rule King Mahendra introduced the four tired structure—village, town, district and national Panchayat—on the basis of limited elected executive committee. Mahendra consolidated power by institutionalizing and invoking the three pillars of national identity—Hindu religion, Nepali language and Monarchy—as a foundation of everyday social and religious life. Moreover, the system propagated the idea of Ek Raja, Ek Bhesh, Ek Bhasa, Ek Desh.
The Most Glorious Order of the Ojaswi Rajanya was an order of knighthood of Nepal. It was given to foreign heads of state, foreign or Nepalese monarchs.
The Nepal Pratap Bhaskara is a decoration of Nepal. It is also called as the Nepal Decoration of Honour. It is the highest honour of Nepal given to only foreign monarchs and Nepalese ruling sovereign.
The Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, also called the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Umbrella, is the highest knighthood order of the Royal Family of Laos.
Kanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah was the Queen consort and first wife of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, King of Nepal. She was the mother of King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah.
Prince Himalaya Pratap Bir Bikram Shah, GBE, GCMG was a son of Tribhuvan of Nepal and his first wife Kanti. He was a younger brother of Mahendra, and an uncle of Birendra and Gyanendra.
Ishwari Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah was the Queen consort and the second wife of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, King of the Kingdom of Nepal. She was the mother of Prince Basundhara Bir Bikram Shah and Princess Nalini Rajya Lakshmi Devi.