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Britain's Queen Elizabeth, her son, Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair have expressed their sorrow over the massacre of the Nepalese royal family, by 29-year-old Dipendra.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said, "The Queen and the Prince of Wales are aware of the incident and are deeply shocked and saddened."
In a separate statement issued from Downing Street, a spokesman quoted Blair as describing the deaths as a "dreadful tragedy".
Prince Charles last visited Nepal in 1998 as a guest of Dipendra, when the Nepalese Crown Prince extended his condolences at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Buckingham Palace spokesman said Charles and Dipendra "knew each other quite well" and had met on several state occasions.
The late Princess Diana was also hugely popular among Nepalese, who praised her as a "model mother".
At an official banquet then, Dipendra had told of Nepal's sorrow at the death of Diana.
She had made a huge impression during a visit to the Himalayan kingdom in 1993 and was praised by adoring Nepalis as a "model mother".
At a state banquet for Charles in 1998 , Dipendra alluded to his own education at Britain's elite Eton College, which he said had given him a sense of "fair play and discipline".
Sources at Eton have confirmed to India Abroad that Dipendra was excused from Christian religious worship at Eton after he turned 18 because, according to royal Nepalese tradition, he was viewed as a reincarnation of Vishnu and could not worship other gods.
The current headmaster of Eton, Eric Anderson, described Dipendra as a "great student".
In a statement released from the college, Anderson said Dipendra, who left the college in 1990, "was a very popular boy and was also liked by all his teachers.
"He was a bright student. Those who knew him at the college are deeply shocked by what has happened."
Flags are flying at half mast at the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles army barracks in Kent south of London, , where more than 1,000 Gurkhas are based.
A special parade is on Monday as a mark of respect.
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