Pratap Malla had the tank constructed to console his queen who was distraught with grief after their son was trampled to death by an elephant.

He had water collected from various holy places and river confluences in Nepal and India like Gosaikunda, Muktinath, Badrinath, Kedarnath and poured into the pond to sanctify it.

[1] King Pratap Malla installed a stone slab at Rani Pokhari with writings in three languages: Sanskrit, Nepali and Nepal Bhasa.

[1] A temple dedicated to Matrikeshwor Mahadev, a form of the Hindu deity Shiva, stands at the center of the pond.

The temples on the eastern side now lie within the compounds of Tri Chandra College and a police station which has undermined their cultural importance.

[8] Rani Pokhari is fenced with iron bars and opened once a year during Bhai Tika, the fifth and final day of the Tihar, and Chhath festival.

[9] Among the earliest references to Rani Pokhari is an account by Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri who visited Kathmandu in 1721 when Nepal was ruled by the Malla kings.

He was travelling from Tibet to India, and has mentioned in his travelogue seeing a large pond outside the main city gate with flights of steps and banks sloping down to the water.

[10] The British Indian Army officer William Kirkpatrick, who visited Kathmandu in 1793, wrote about a quadrangular reservoir of water situated near the northeastern part of the city.

The original plans used concrete for the restoration, instead of the traditional brick and clay, and included fountains and a new lakeside café.

On the western side of Rani Pokhari stands another historical building, Durbar High School, built in 1854 AD.

Tundikhel, a parade ground and ceremonial grass field and a Kathmandu landmark, formerly extended from the southern side of Rani Pokhari.