"We had fun, but Shah Dev was a very, very studious student," Tung adds. "He knew he was being groomed to be the king."

The two were socially as well as academically privileged, however. They were admitted to the Fox final club without a formal punch process, according to Whitney Beales '68, a friend from the Fox.

Being friends with the crown prince had its perks. Friends used to squeeze into his beloved black Jaguar XKE for rides.

The two-seater sent Shah Dev off to many sites outside Boston. Shah Dev was an avid traveler, visiting New York City and other places on weekends, Beales says. During spring break, he and Shrestha drove all the way to Florida, Pankauz Shrestha says.

In addition to academics, an equally important part of the college experience was "meeting other students, many of whom have remained lifelong friends," Narayan Shrestha says.

Kong says he believes that he was one of the few people whom Shah Dev could regard "as a friend, [without being] afraid of political repercussions."

Pankauz Shrestha says Shah Dev's year at Harvard was one of the few times the king could interact with other people on in informal basis. "[It was] one of the few places where he could really be himself," he says.

--Staff Writer Eugenia B. Schraa can be reached at schraa@fas.harvard.edu