King Of Nepal To Lose More Than 500 Members Of His Staff March 16, 2007 10:40 a.m. EST Maira Oliveira - All Headline News Reporter Kathmandu, Nepal (BANG) - The King of Nepal is to lose three-quarters of his staff. Nepal's government is to remove 580 of King Gyanendra's 774 aides, including cooks, waiters and Queen Komal's hairdressers and servants who collect flowers for use in the royals' religious ceremonies. The king has few allies in the new coalition government, which formed when the monarch was forced to abandon direct rule last year following a series of pro-democracy street protests. Ministers want to reassign half of the staff who currently work at the Narayanhiti palace to ordinary government posts. Another quarter will be offered voluntary redundancy and, in addition, all employees over 58 will be compulsory retired. This week, the prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, asked the king to abdicate, saying the monarch had lost his reputation. Since the king relinquished power he has been asked to pay taxes and his image has been removed from banknotes. The government also plans to nationalize property accumulated by King Gyanendra since he ascended the throne in 2001.