Wedding of Birendra and Aishwarya
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The royal wedding of crown prince Birendra and Aishwarya was held in the February of 1970 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The wedding had an extensive preparation and was attended by more than 300 international guests. Around 50 heads of state were invited for the wedding. The King of Laos, the President of India and Governor General of Srilanka attended the wedding while other countries sent their representatives. [1] Crown prince Birendra was aged 24 and Aishwarya was 20 at the time of the wedding.
Wedding preparation
The wedding had an extensive preparation. Four white stallions were brought from England while flowers were brought from the Netherlands. Exotic foods were brouht from New Delhi in two planes including 130 Indian waiters and 40 taxi cabs. [2]200 automobiles were brought from German and Japan for the guests.
The Singha Durbar was cleaned to make room for the bride's family. [2]The roads of Kathmandu were repaved and street lights were reinstalled. The Government buildings were whitewashed and new walls were built to the older constructions. Two new second‐class hotels were taken by government to serve for the guests.[1]
The hippies and the hashish market which was a legal business then were closed few months before the wedding.[1]
A postal stamp was issued to mark the royal wedding. [3]
The cost of the wedding was about 9.5-16 USD (Nepal's annual national budget was 66 million USD at that time).[2] [1]
Guests
Over 50 head of states were invited in the wedding. Following people attended the wedding:
- The King of Laos Sisavang Vatthana
- The President of India
- Governor General of Ceylon
- Crown Prince and Princess of Afghanistan
- Chogyal of Sikkim and his wife
- Prince Richard of Gloucester from Britain (a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II)
- David and Julie Eisenhower.
- Senator William B. Saxbe, and his wife from Ohio, America
- A. A. Fomin, head of the South east Asian department in the Soviet Foreign Ministry from Russia.
Wedding
The dates and times of all the wedding rituals were determined by hindu astrologers. Hundreds of children and adults cavort around the nine elephants to start the wedding procession. The wedding took place on the 27 February 1979. The gifts for the royal couple were showcased in the streets. Some of the dignitaries walked to the palace instead of taking vehicle. All Nepalese guest walked to the royal palace.[4]
Two days of elaborate vedic rituals were performed prior to the wedding. On the day of the wedding itself, Birendra rode on an elephant at the Royal Palace and led a two mile long procession. When they reached courtyard of Singha Durbar, the prince performed cerimonies with the princess in front of an eternal flame. The couple's feet were washed by every guests from the bride's side.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Nepalese Prepare for a Royal Wedding - The New York Times". Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ a b c d "Nepal: Marriage of Convenience". Time. 1970-03-09. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Wedding Ceremony of King Birendra of Nepal". 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Crown Prince Birendra of Nepal's Wedding Celebration". Retrieved 2022-01-21.