KATHMANDU, Sept 6: The heir to Nepal’s monarchy, Crown Prince Paras, was in stable condition on Thursday after suffering a massive heart attack that doctors blamed on the 36-year-old playboy’s lifestyle.

The prince is an unpopular figure due to his nightclub antics, fast driving and reckless living in one of the world’s poorest countries.

“The crown prince has had a major heart attack,” Bharat Rawat, one of the doctors treating Paras, told reporters.

“He is out of danger now, but we can’t say if he will have another heart attack,” Rawat said, adding the prince would “need to change his diet and lifestyle.” Paras was in stable condition, the doctor said, but will stay in intensive care at Kathmandu’s premier Norvic hospital for two days, and likely will remain under observation for several days after that.

“Ninety-five per cent of the blood circulation was blocked in his right artery, but now he is doing very well and he is free of pain,” he added. The prince’s mother and father, King Gyanendra and Queen Komal, arrived at the hospital soon after their son was admitted, but said nothing to waiting journalists.

Paras survived a June 2001 massacre at Nepal’s royal palace in which nine members of the family, including the then King Birendra, were shot dead by crown prince Dipendra, who later killed himself.—AFP