Nepal's King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya were among 13 members of the royal family shot dead by their son, Crown Prince Dipendra at the royal palace in Kathmandu, sources said Saturday.
The 29-year-old prince then turned the gun on himself, they said.
Army sources and sources close to the prime minister said the 55-year-old king's other children, Prince Nirajan and Princess Shruti, were among those killed in the massacre that apparently took place during the family's regular Friday dinner at the royal palace.
There was no official confirmation of what occurred, or what the dispute might have been about. An official announcement on the incident was expected later Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, the State Council Standing Committee, which acts as a royal advisory body, convened an emergency session to assess the shocking situation and begin the process of anointing a successor.
With all the king's children reportedly killed in the shooting, the most likely successor is the late king's younger brother Prince Gyanendra, 54, who was staying at the winter palace in Pokhra at the time of the massacre.
Reports said Prince Gyanendra was being flown back to the capital.
King Birendra had ruled as an absolute monarch from 1972 until 1990 when his role became purely constitutional in the wake of a popular people's movement.
The king was a popular figure and witnesses said shocked Kathmandu residents had begun to gather outside the palace as news of the killings spread rapidly through the capital, where beefed up security was already evident.
The crisis triggered by the killings comes at an especially difficult time for Nepal, which is currently struggling with an increasingly violent Maoist rebellion.
Although the details and motives behind the killings could not be confirmed, there was speculation of a bitter argument surrounding the crown prince's marriage plans.
According to recent newspaper reports, astrologers had advised the royal family that the crown prince, aged 30, should not be allowed to marry or produce children until after he was 35.
If this directive was not followed the king would die, the astrologers warned, according to the reports -- KATHMANDU (AFP)
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