A Farewell for King Norodom Sihanouk Interactive Feature: A Farewell for a King Cambodians came out in huge numbers to honor the late King Norodom Sihanouk in an elaborate public funeral that began last Friday and culminated in his cremation on Monday. Since the king's death in October people have been flocking to Phnom Penh from far-flung provinces, making pilgrimages to view his body, and crying and praying in front of the Royal Palace. The intensity of the mourning initially surprised many observers since the 89-year-old Sihanouk hadn't been an active public presence for many years. Sihanouk was a deeply flawed leader whose regime was rife with corruption and intolerant of dissent. After being deposed in 1970, he threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge and became a key factor in its disastrous rise to power. Though he was egotistical, vain and often ruthless, Sihanouk had one quality that endeared him to his people: He genuinely loved his country and its rural villagers, whom he invariably referred to as the "little people," even when he wasn't willing or able to do justice to that love. And many of them loved him in turn, even when he didn't seem to deserve it.