Four years later, with armed rebellion raging, Gyanendra dismissed an elected government and vowed to crush the Maoist rebellion himself. He failed, and his popularity plummeted. By April 2006, widespread unrest had forced the king to restore democracy.
Soon after, the Maoists ended their fight. And last year, in a deal that paved the way for Thursday’s elections, they agreed with the major political parties that after the vote no man should wear the bejeweled Nepalese crown of yak hair and peacock feathers.



