South Asia News
Former Nepal royal palace reopens as a museum
Feb 26, 2009, 12:33 GMT
Kathmandu - Nepal's Maoist-led government on Thursday formally reopened the former main royal palace in Kathmandu as a museum.
The Narayanhiti Palace was inaugurated as a museum by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal whose Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, waged a 10-year insurgency to abolish the monarchy.
Officials said only 19 of the palace's 52 rooms would be open to the public as of Friday.
The remaining rooms would be opened for public viewing in the second phase of the transformation into a museum, officials said.
The display includes the gold and silver throne of the Nepalese kings. However, the royal sceptre and the crown will not be on display due to security reasons.
Narayanhiti Palace had been the seat of Nepal's Shah kings for the last century.
It was also the site of the murder of Nepalese king Birendra along with his entire family and other relatives by a drunken prince.
The massacre resulted in Nepal's last king Gyanendra ascending to the throne.
Nepalese politicians decided to turn the palace into a museum following the abolition of monarchy in early 2008.
Nepal's last king Gyanendra moved out of the palace following the vote to abolish monarchy and currently lives in a small government retreat on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
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