Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee’s meeting with the king today—the third in the past six days—is believed to have helped assuage the king’s fears. The US and the UK later declared their support for the Indian initiative in easing the situation in Nepal.

As he stood up to deliver the speech, he betrayed no emotion or feelings for those who died during the past few days of pro-democracy movement but profusely thanked those who stood by him during his rule.

He reiterated his unflinching commitment to constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy, adding ‘‘we, through this proclamation, affirm that the executive power of the Kingdom of Nepal, which was in our safekeeping, shall, from this day, be returned to the people and be exercised in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990.’’

‘‘We, therefore, call upon the seven-party alliance to recommend a name for the post of prime minister at the earliest for the constitution of the Council of Ministers which will bear the responsibility of governing the country in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990,’’ he said.