Why go
The change from kingdom to republic is a useful final chapter after visiting the valley’s older Malla centers and learning how Gorkha rulers unified them. It puts the end of royal rule in a clear sequence while leaving today’s political arrangements to current sources.
The full story
The republic was not a sudden break from a settled monarchy. A decade of civil conflict and a broad protest movement weakened royal authority. An elected Constituent Assembly met in Kathmandu in May 2008 and voted to abolish the monarchy. Nepal was declared a republic, ending a kingdom that had taken shape under Prithvi Narayan Shah in the eighteenth century. The assembly then faced the harder work of building a new constitutional order. Political disagreements delayed that process, and a new constitution was adopted in 2015. This short sequence is enough to orient a visit to Kathmandu’s royal sites: the palace setting belongs to a longer history, while the state that governs Nepal has changed. It also explains why a story that begins with the valley’s rival city kingdoms does not end with a reigning king. For present political offices or rules, check a current official source.