A retired schoolmaster who taught the assassinated King of Nepal and his son at Eton College has told of the gentle father and his "intensely loyal" son.

Tragedy rocked Nepal on Friday when Crown Prince Dipendra is believed to have shot dead his father and mother, King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya, and six other members of his family before turning the gun on himself.

Thomas Holden, a retired head of geography at Eton, revealed that even since Crown Prince Dipendra left the exclusive college in 1990, the two had remained in contact via letters and phone calls.

He was shocked by the shootings, which allegedly stemmed from the queen's rejection of the Crown Prince's choice of a bride. Dipendra was in intensive care for two days and was officially king until he died on Sunday. Yesterday, his uncle, Prince Gyanendra, was made King of Nepal among violent demonstrations by Nepalese residents who refuse to believe that Dipendra would have killed his family.

Mr Holden, 66, of Thame, said: "I am so shocked to think that a former pupil of mine could have done such a thing.

"It is really difficult to take this in. Some of the things which had appeared in the popular press are very lurid - this is not the way I remember Dipendra at all.

"He was intensely loyal to his father, the King, which is why this awful tragedy has come as such a complete shock."

Mr Holden said he last heard from the Crown Prince three months ago, when he wrote a letter to his former teacher, giving all the family news and friendly greetings. He gave no indication in the letter that he was having any problems," Mr Holden said.

He was personal tutor to King Birendra, who attended Eton and left in 1964 and later became housemaster to his son, the Crown Prince.

Mr Holden said: "King Birendra was a very gentle man who always had a great respect for everybody."