Anger in Kathmandu

Nepalese are mourning the loss of their beloved King Birendra and most of his family. They are also demanding a clearer explanation of how they came to be shot dead.

As King Birendra was laid to rest, bystanders with tear-soaked faces shouted "Come back king, save the country."

"I don't see any hope. The past king was such a great democrat, such a great personality," said popular Nepali novelist Diamon Shumshere Rana.

"When I think of my country, everything is dark before my eyes."

One woman mourner said, "I'm very sad. The king was like our parents, like the Lord Vishnu to us. Everyone is crying."

In the centre of the city on Sunday, long queues of people clutching flowers stood in front of the Naryanhiti palace, where Friday's killings took place.

An impromptu shrine inside the gates was heaped with irises and lilies.

"People are standing around just totally dazed and bewildered," said British Ambassador Ronald Nash.

Anger

On Monday, grief gave way to anger as the Nepalese vented their frustration over the conflicting explanations of the massacre.

Initial reports said the late King Dipendra, who died early on Monday morning, was behind the killings but the royal palace later said there had been an accident - a sudden discharge of an automatic weapon.

The BBC's correspondent in Kathmandu, Daniel Lak, says neither of these versions of events satisfies anyone in the country.

"It's just absurd," one secondary school teacher told AFP news agency. "Are we really meant to believe that a semi-automatic gun accidentally went off repeatedly, spinning around a dinner table until the royal family had been wiped out?"

The new monarch, King Gyanendra, is not a popular figure and, as he was crowned on Monday a belligerent crowd tried to block the route of his motorcade to the old palace.

Some of the protesters burned Indian newspapers for carrying reports holding the country's former crown prince responsible for the massacre.

Others yelled slogans against the new king and his son, Paras Shah, saying they may somehow have been involved.

It seems unlikely that Nepalis will even begin to come to terms with the events of the last few days until they are satisfied that they have the full story.

As one man said, "We've got a new king, but that's not good enough - we want the truth about who murdered the king and queen."