Nepalis around the world are still trying to come to terms with the recent events that have taken place back home.

BBC News Online has received hundreds of messages from Nepalis inside the country and across the world expressing dismay, disbelief and shock at the unexpected deaths of King Birendra, Queen Aiswarya and other members of the royal family.

God help us

Shiv Raj Bhatt in the Netherlands

"I am shocked. He was our beloved king and the symbol of unity. He was our god. May their souls rest in peace," says Sashi Raj Sigdel in Bangalore.

"The sense of loss is beyond words. We have lost a great family, an institution and a model of a generous royal family, especially His Majesty King Birendra who really loved and cared for his subjects. Thanks to the international community for its sympathy," writes Naresh Newar in London.

"It is really shocking news. We had never expected that - [the] king and queen were like gods to us. Without them we already feel helpless," says another message from Belarus.

Disbelief

Many readers from Nepal do not believe the original theory behind the killings - that Crown Prince Dipendra shot his family after a row over his choice of bride.

Other e-mails, from Nepal and elsewhere, express shock that the prince could have done such a thing.

It's very, very hard to comprehend

Giri, Sharda, and Deepak Dhungana, Australia

"We are enraged by this incident and want to see justice be done," says Aerios, a Nepali e-mailing from Colombia. "The last thing we want is for the government to come out with some stupid and senseless fabrication.

"If the truth is what came out first, then Dipendra will never be forgiven. He shamed us all, and for a royal to act in the way he acted, that is just incomprehensible."

But Samasti, from Nepal, says: "I just don't believe whoever blamed our prince Dipendra for killing his parents and other royal members. He can do anything, but not this."

Giri, Sharda, and Deepak Dhungana, e-mailing from Australia, say: "We happened to meet the prince while he was in Sydney for the Olympics and he seemed a very friendly and likeable person. How can we imagine that he is the same person who wiped out his entire family? It's very, very hard to comprehend."

End of an era?

"In Hong Kong it rained the whole day as if it is mourning the demise of our king and queen. Almost all Nepalese people avoided working in confused and tearful mood. We all thought it was just a dream," says Dinesh Subba in Hong Kong.

The shock of the news of the death of the King has touched a raw nerve in my life. It has taught me that deep down in my heart I am and always will be a Nepali and feel very deeply for its welfare, its people and its future

Tara Prakash Shrestha, Australia

One e-mail asks whether the terrible events will mark the beginning of a new era in Nepalese politics.

"There are couple of questions every Nepalese must think and ask now. In the present socio-economic and political context, do the Nepalese want another king or a royal family?

"Is it a turning point in Nepalese history that Nepalese should abandon the monarchy totally?" say Kiran, Mercie and Sabrina Chalise in Sydney.

Remembering home

For some, the news has brought back memories of a forgotten homeland.

"Having lived in Sydney for almost a decade, I had reached a point of no return. Nepal to me was a distant past, a memory to be cherished and the hardships better forgotten," writes Tara Prakash Shrestha in Australia.

"The shock of the news of the death of the king has touched a raw nerve in my life. It has taught me that deep down in my heart I am and always will be a Nepali and feel very deeply for its welfare, its people and its future.

"It is a loss for the country, the passing away of a king that had responded to the wishes of the people. Unfortunately the politicians that took over are more concerned about their own parties and themselves. Perhaps in his death King Birendra will unite the people of Nepal."