bumped into this at hikehimalaya.com

But King Gyanendra soon took over absolute power by removing the Prime Minister and appointing his own hand-picked ministers. However, this wasn’t to last long, as all political parties including the Maoists joined hands to rise up against him. King Gyanendra was forced to step down and stripped of all his powers. Immediately after democracy was reinstated in April, the Maoists announced a cease-fire. The government, under Girija Prasad Koirala, responded with their announcement of a cease-fire. After about 6 months of peace talks, the head of the government, Girija Prasad Koirala, and the chairperson of Maoist party, Puspa Kamal Dahal, ( Prachanda), signed a peace agreement on 21 October 2006. The Polls for the Constituent Assembly held on April 10, 2008 where Maoists achieved a majority in the elections. A month later parliament abolished the monarchy, declared as a republic nation, ending 240 years of Shah dynasty rule.

Interesting, I thought.