The docile palace guards, trained more for fawning servitude than martial prowess, had no way of knowing that the Friday-night comings and goings of Nepal's huffy Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, would turn out to be the prelude to a dynastic catastrophe. When the Crown Prince and his cousin Prince Paras, 27, arrived at the palace for the royal family's regular Friday dinner, they were dressed casually in khaki slacks and polo shirts and had already had a few drinks. The two were notorious prowlers of the Kathmandu night-life circuit, regulars at the X-Zone nightclub and the Bakery Cafe, where they were...
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