He and his wife, the former queen Komal, swept out of the compound in the back of a black Mercedes as scores of riot police guarded the main gate.

 

Earlier, he said he had handed back his crown and royal sceptre and would work for the good of the new republic.

 

Last month, Nepal's Maoist-led assembly voted to abolish the monarchy.

 

The palace in the centre of Kathmandu is to become a museum.

 

Gyanendra and his wife are moving to a new, temporary residence outside the city.

 

 

A police and army escort followed the ex-monarch's car as he left for Nagarjun, in the north-western suburbs of Kathmandu.

           

The couple will live in a large, comfortable but ordinary-looking house there.

 

A few loyalist onlookers called for Gyanendra to stay on as his car left but many in the crowd near the palace seemed happy to see him go, correspondents say.

 

"This marks the beginning of a new Nepal and the end of a dynasty that has done nothing but harm this country," Devendra Maharjan, a farmer who had come to Kathmandu to see the king leave the palace, told The Associated Press.

 

"If it had not been for the kings, Nepal would probably not have remained a poor nation."

 

Speaking to journalists at the palace earlier, the former monarch said he had given his priceless crown to the Nepalese government for its protection.

 

"I have assisted in and respected the verdict of the people," Gyanendra said, insisting he would not leave Nepal and go into exile.

 

Addressing Nepali people's widespread belief that he had engineered the royal massacre of 2001, he vigorously denied involvement.

 

He pointed out that his wife had had several bullets lodged in her body in the attack, in which Crown Prince Dipendra shot dead King Birendra and eight other members of the royal family before killing himself.

 

Gyanendra said he had taken over power in 2005 hoping it would bring harmony and peace, but he admitted things had not worked out as he had planned.

 

His stepmother and his grandfather's mistress will live on in their homes within the compound of the palace in central Kathmandu, in a fenced-off area.

 

 

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says that the former monarch's departure is a major symbolic moment in the fall of the Shah dynasty, which unified Nepal in the 1760s.

 

The Maoists, who urged Gyanendra to bow out gracefully or be put on trial, welcomed the news that he was going quietly.

But the ending of the monarchy has generally been a bitter affair, our correspondent says.

 

It was engendered by the 2001 massacre and Gyanendra's attempts to be politically active in quelling the Maoist insurgency, he adds.

 

The deposed king is reported to be reluctant to allow a committee to audit his saleable assets.

 

He has made clear that he will leave behind most of the furniture in the palace, along with gifts he received in his capacity as the country's head of state.

 

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said details of which possessions he keeps and which ones he leaves behind would be publicised after his departure from the palace.

 

Mr Sitaula and the information minister inspected Gyanendra's new home earlier this week.

 

Photos of their visit drew some criticism from people upset over the number of animal trophies and other wildlife artefacts on display. They argue that such items should be confiscated.