By Charles Haviland BBC Nepal correspondent

Only one photo of Prachanda had been in circulation until now

He said a trial of the king might take place in a "people's court", leading to possible execution.

However, elsewhere in the interview Prachanda also said he could envisage Nepal remaining a monarchy if the people wanted it.

'People's verdict'

This was the first face-to-face broadcast interview given by the Maoist's reclusive chairman, Prachanda, who has been living an underground existence for 25 years.

Whatever decision the people should give, we will be ready to accept this Maoist leader Prachanda

His rebels now control much of the countryside, but this is a conflict most observers believe neither side can win militarily. The Maoists are pressing for an elected assembly to write a new Nepalese constitution.

Prachanda said he believed such an assembly would make Nepal into a republic. But he said his party would accept "the people's verdict".

"Whatever decision the people should give, we will be ready to accept this," he told the BBC.

Asked if that meant he would theoretically be able to accept a people's verdict of keeping the monarchy, he said: "Yes, theoretically it is like that."

But asked later what place the king might have in Nepal five years from now, Prachanda said: "I think he'll either be executed by the people's court or maybe exiled."

He said the king, who took direct political power a year ago, had left no room for compromise.

Nepal does not allow capital punishment and Prachanda's comments will shock many Nepalis and probably cause discomfort to a group of opposition parties which recently signed a political agreement with the Maoists.

'Pragmatic'

Prachanda said he was "saddened" by the number of deaths in the conflict - some 13,000 - and by what he called accidents such as the death of children in bomb blasts.

The rebels are in effective control of large swathes of rural Nepal

But he was unrepentant about using violence against those he described as informers.

Asked if the Maoists aimed to conquer the capital, Kathmandu, militarily, he said that foreign help to the government had made that difficult, and that such an action would "cause a lot of harm to the Nepali people".

Analysts say the Maoists are nowadays a pragmatic party, and for much of this interview the 52-year-old Maoist reflected this.