He became the king after Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana forced the abdication of his father, Rajendra Bikram Shah.

Surendra's stepmother, Queen Rajya Lakshmi, was ambitious to have her son, Prince Ranendra, sit on the throne.

[1] King Surendra was like a prisoner in his own palace: with the exception of his immediate family, nobody could visit him without the permission of Jung Bahadur Rana.

Frustrated at these circumstances, the king wanted to abdicate in favor of his eldest son Trailokya, but the Rana did not allow it.

In 1856, King Surendra issued a sanad- which formalized the dominance and political leadership of the Kunwar family- the family of Jung Bahadur Rana.