Hundreds of thousands of stunned mourners lined the streets of the Nepalese capital on Saturday to watch the funeral procession of their king and queen -- apparently gunned down by their eldest son Crown Prince Dipendra. The bodies of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, and three other members of the royal family killed in the massacre, were carried shoulder-high on bamboo stretchers towards the cremation site at the city's Golden Temple on the banks of the holy River Bagmati. The speed of the funeral, in accordance with Hindu traditions, had left the people of Nepal almost no time to digest the shocking news of the royal bloodbath that took place than 24 hours before during a regular Friday dinner gathering at the royal palace. The slow procession began at the military hopital where the bodies had been taken the day before and was due to pass by the main gate of the royal palace on its way to the temple. A mounted guard of honour led the way, with police massed bands playing sombre music. The king's body, held aloft by bare-chested brahmin priests, was covered to the neck by a saffron cloth -- his face obsured by garlands of flowers and another piece of cloth wrapped around his forehead.
Behind him came the body of the queen -- inside an ornate, covered palanquin -- followed by those of his younger son, Prince Niranjan, only daughter Princess Shruti, and one of the king's cousins, Princess Jayanti Shah.
While many of the onlookers seemed too stunned to react, others wept openly, holding sticks of incense or clutchhing each other for support. As the procession passed by, women threw flowers and rice coloured with red powder.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard the news," said student Gopendra Gautam. "I had to come here to see for myself, but I still can't really take it in." Confusion has surrounded the circumstances of the massacre, as well as the precise number of dead and the condition of Crown Prince Dipendra, who Home Minister Ram Chandra Paudel had identified as the gunmen.
As well as the five royals carried in the funeral procession, Paudel said six other people had been killed, including the king's two sisters and one of their husbands. An official statement on state-run radio only named the five main royals among the dead and gave absolutely no details of the actual killings.
The crown prince, who Paudel said had finally turned the gun on himself, was officially named the new king, although he was reported to be in a deep coma in intensive care.
"I got the news by phone this morning, but my first reaction was that it was a hoax call," said social worker Shanti Mishra.
"At a time when the country most needs a good leader, the king is dead."
Behind the main funeral cortege, walked a line of official mourners, including cabinet ministers, senior palace staff and top military oficers.
One elderly mourner watching the procession, Hari Chnadra Paudel, said he was still confused as to what had happened in the palace on Friday. "All we here are wild rumours, and it is time the government gave us a clear picture of what actually took place."
Bureau Report