Mother Uma Rajya Laxmi Parents Nara Shumsher J.B.R. Died September 12, 2007, Nepal | Name Princess Shah Religion Hinduism | |
Born September 21, 1932
Bahadur Bhawan,
Kathmandu, Nepal ( 1932-09-21 ) Issue Princess Jayanti Shah
Ketaki Chester
Princess Jyotshana Basnyat House Rana dynasty (by birth)
Shah dynasty (by marriage) Father Nara Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Spouse Prince Basundhara of Nepal Children Princess Jayanti of Nepal, Princess Jyotshana Basnyat of Nepal Grandchildren Suvash Basnyat, Vivekh Basnyat, Sharada Basnyat | ||
Princess Helen Shah of Nepal (September 21, 1926 – September 12, 2008) was a member of the former Nepalese royal family. She was the wife of Prince Basundhara of Nepal, a son of King Tribhuvan of Nepal and his second wife Queen Ishwari.
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Life
Princess Helen Shah was born at the Bahadur Bhawan, Kathmandu. 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 Laxmi, of Doti.
She married Prince Basundhara on June 17, 1945 in Kathmandu.
They had three children:
Princess Helen Shah was the chairman of Nepal Red Cross Society from 1981 to 1990. From 1977 to 1990, she was a member of Raj Shabha. 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. 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), 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 Princess Jayanti Memorial Trust 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 Shah, the widow of Prince Basundhara, died of cancer on September 12, 2008 at the King Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni.
Her older sister Princep married Prince Himalaya of Nepal.