music as the black carriage carrying Princess Prerna, 24, and her husband, Raj Bahadur Singh, was pulled by four white horses through city streets a day after they were wed at the Narayanhity Palace.

The marriage of King Gyanendra‘s only daughter to a commoner was the biggest social event in the Himalayan kingdom in years, giving the monarchy and the impoverished nation a brief chance to forget a palace bloodbath 19 months ago in which 10 royals died. Singh, a 29-year-old University of California computer graduate, waved cheerfully while his bride sat next to him through the seven-km ride from the pagoda-roofed palace to his mansion in an upmarket neighbourhood. Earlier, King Gyanendra walked alongside as the princess was carried from the palace to the carriage in a palanquin. The king then bade farewell to his daughter, dressed in a bright red sari weaved with gold thread, and to the groom, who wore traditional tight trousers and a knee-length shirt. Wednesday‘s late-night wedding, held on the palace lawns, was a private affair attended by relatives and royal guests. The monarch is revered by Nepalis as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, one of the supreme Hindu trinity of gods, and no commoners aside from servants are usually allowed inside the royal compound.

The marriage between the princess, who holds a business diploma, and Singh was arranged by their parents. Nepali royals often wed the children of India‘s former princely families but they also marry wealthy locals. Reuters