They were fired for negligence of their duty at the time of the massacre.

Defence Secretary Padam Kumar Acharya

Defence Secretary Padam Kumar Acharya said that the officials had been dismissed on the grounds of negliect of duty.

They were named as Colonel Sundar Pratap Rana, Major Ananta Keshar Simha, Raju Karki and Gajendra Bohara.

An official enquiry into the shootings found that the then Crown Prince, Dipendra, carried them out before apparently killing himself.

Personnel changes

Some of those dismissed were personal bodyguards responsible for the safety of the late king, queen and the crown prince.

Crown Prince Dipendra: Blamed for carrying out killings

It is not clear in what respect they were held to be negligent.

The enquiry into the massacre noted that Crown Prince Dipendra had been intoxicated on drink and drugs on the evening when he carried out the massacre.

Reports from the royal palace say that a number of other changes to security personnel have been made.

Mr Acharya told the BBC that King Gyanendra has appointed the aide-de-camp (ADC) to the slain Prince Nirajan as his new ADC.

King Gyanendra recently ordered a security review following concerns about security lapses at the palace.

Insurgency fears

An inquiry panel has also recommended a revamp of palace security following concern in the government over Maoist rebel violence.

The rebels are fighting to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist republic, and have vowed to step up violence following the palace killings.

They say that the killing was the outcome of a national and international conspiracy.

More than 1,700 people have been killed since the rebellion began five years ago.