Kanti Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah (Nepali: कान्ति राज्यलक्ष्मीदेवी शाह; 5 July 1906 – 12 April 1973) was the queen consort and first wife of Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, King of Nepal. She was the mother of King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah.^[1]

Life

She was the daughter of Arjan Singh Sahib, Raja of Chhatara, Barhgaon and Oudh and his wife, Krishnavati Devi Sahiba.

She was married (at a young age in an arranged custom) at the Narayanhity Royal Palace, Kathmandu, in March 1919, to King Tribhuvan of Nepal^[2] as his first wife, in a double ceremony with her younger sister Ishwari, as his second wife.

In 1948, Erica Leuchtag, a German physiotherapist, who had been serving the royal family of Patiala was invited to treat Queen Kanti. Leuchtag also treated the King and reportedly befriended many members of the Nepali royal family including the junior Queen Ishwari and the Princesses Nalini, Vijaya and Bharati inside the Narayanhiti Palace during her time in Nepal when the royal family was not allowed to leave the palace by the Rana rulers. This account has been detailed in Leuchtag’s book Erica and the King.

During the reign of King Mahendra, the Queen Mothers, Kanti and Ishwari wished to establish a university in Nepal to meet the needs of the nation as the existing colleges were affiliated with Patna University of India and thus adhered to its prescribed courses, policies, rules, and regulations. As such, the University Commission was established on March 31, 1956 with the senior Queen Mother Kanti serving as the Chairman and the junior Queen Mother Ishwari serving as the Vice Chairman. The two Queen Mothers laid down the foundation stone on June 25, 1958 and even personally donated 375 ropanis of land in Lalitpur designated for their widowhood by their late husband King Tribhuvan. As a result, Tribhuvan University was established in June 25, 1959.

Honours

• Member of the Order of the Benevolent Ruler (1954).^[3]
• King Mahendra Coronation Medal (2 May 1956).