KATHMANDU, May 31: Nepal’s deposed monarch is willing to leave his palace quietly to begin life as a commoner but wants help finding new accommodation for himself and elderly members of his family, an official said on Saturday.

The palace received a letter on Friday asking the unpopular ex-king to leave within two weeks, in line with the newly-elected assembly’s vote to abolish the monarchy earlier in the week.

“The palace secretary has told the home minister that (ousted king) Gyanendra Shah and his family are leaving the palace,” Bimalendra Nidhi, an official of the Nepali Congress party, told AFP. “The former king respects the decision of the constituent assembly and is willing to leave the palace soon.”

Nidhi also said the government had decided to withdraw army troops guarding Gyanendra and to throw a party in the pink-hued palace after he leaves. The royal palace is still guarded by some 1,500 soldiers but Nepal’s army — previously seen as a bastion of royalists — has said it will comply with any government orders to withdraw security

cover.—AFP