

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn is carried by royal guards on a palanquin during his coronation on Sunday in Bangkok. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

As part of his three-day coronation, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn was carried through Bangkok in a royal procession on Sunday.

The 66-year-old king was carried by 16 men. He wore gold-embroidered clothes and the same hat that his father wore when he was sworn in about seven decades ago, according to Reuters.



Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn's palanquin was carried by 16 men during his procession. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in 2016; Vajiralongkorn’s coronation was originally held off because of the official mourning period, though no reason was given for the extended delay.

The 16 men carrying the king swapped out along the way during Sunday’s procession, which involved more than 1,300 personnel.



The king's procession involved more than 1,300 personnel. (Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Vajiralongkorn’s four-mile procession was intended to pay homage at three Buddhist temples and gave him an opportunity see his subjects, who came out in yellow, the color associated with the king.



Crowds line King Maha Vajiralongkorn's four-mile procession route. (Thai Tv Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

The government said 200,000 people were expected to have lined the procession route. The weekend’s ceremonies and festivities, which cost $31.4 million, began Saturday, when the king put the 16-pound Great Crown of Victory on his head and declared he would reign with righteousness.

The new king, who is now Rama X, the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty, was educated in Britain and Australia. He became the official heir to the throne in 1972 — and the world’s richest monarch in 2018 when he signed the family’s $30 billion fortune over to himself.

On Sunday, the king bestowed new ranks and titles to some members of the royal family.



Queen Suthida watches as King Maha Vajiralongkorn offers food to a monk during his coronation. (Thai Royal Household Bureau/AFP/Getty Images)

He was joined by Queen Suthida, a former flight attendant whom Vajiralongkorn brought on as his bodyguard and made a full general. The king announced just days ahead of the coronation that he had married Suthida and made her queen. It was not known, at the time, whether she would play a role in the coronation.

It is the fourth marriage for the king, who has had three divorces. He has a daughter from his first marriage, five from his second (four of whom aren’t recognized by the palace, the marriage having ended acrimoniously) and one from his third marriage, which ended in 2014. Various relatives of his third ex-wife were charged under Thailand’s harsh lèse-majesté laws, which make it illegal to insult the king, even if he is a former in-law.

The coronation comes at a confused time in Thai politics. Elections were held in March for the first time since the military took power in 2014, but the country still doesn’t have a government, leading some to wonder whether the military’s promise to return the country to democratic rule was a hollow one.</s>(BBC) — Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been crowned on the first of three days of coronation rites.

King Vajiralongkorn inherited the throne in 2016 when his long-reigning father Bhumibol Adulyadej died.

Days ago in a surprise announcement the palace said the king had married his long-term partner and royal consort who would now be Queen Suthida.

Thailand has a constitutional monarchy, but the royal family is highly revered by Thais and wields considerable power.

Thailand also has strict laws, called lese majeste, which ban criticism of the monarchy. The laws have shielded the royal family from public view and scrutiny.

During Saturday’s ceremony the 66-year-old king was handed the 7.3kg (16lbs) Great Crown of Victory, which he placed on his head.

He then issued his first royal command, promising to reign with righteousness, as his father had done at his coronation 69 years ago.

The coronation comes at a time of political uncertainty. A general election was held on 24 March, the first since the army took control in a coup in 2014, but a new government has yet to be declared.

Who is the king?

King Vajiralongkorn is the second child, and first son, of Queen Sirikit and Bhumibol Adulyadej.

He was educated in the UK and Australia and has been trained at the Royal Military College in Canberra. He went on to become an officer in the Thai armed forces and is a qualified civilian and fighter pilot.

He became crown prince and official heir to the throne in 1972. He is now known as Rama X, or the 10th King of the Chakri dynasty.

Queen Suthida, who is his fourth wife, is the deputy commander of his personal security unit. She was made a full general in the army in December 2016.

What are the coronation ceremonies?

The coronation rituals began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, when King Vajiralongkorn changed into a white robe to go through purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water that has been collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

He is receiving the five Royal Regalia – the symbols of kingship – which includes the Great Crown of Victory.

Most of the main Brahmin and Buddhist rituals take place on Saturday, and the coronation continues until Monday.

While King Vajiralongkorn has been on the throne since 2016, in Thai tradition he cannot be considered a divine representative on Earth nor the main patron of Buddhism until he is consecrated.

How are Thais marking the occasion?

On Sunday, King Vajiralongkorn will take part in a procession around the capital, Bangkok, giving people a chance to celebrate.

Large crowds are expected for this event as well as when he makes a public appearance on a balcony at the Grand Palace on Monday.

King Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time abroad and is not as well known to the public as his father.

But huge portraits of him can now be seen at many buildings after it was made mandatory for state offices to erect them in the weeks leading up to the celebration.

Civil servants were also asked to wear yellow – the colour associated with the king. Many ordinary Thais will also be wearing yellow to show their loyalty to the monarch.</s>Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn was officially crowned Saturday amid the splendor of the country's Grand Palace, taking the central role in an elaborate centuries-old royal ceremony that was last held almost seven decades ago.

The coronation represents a renewal of the monarchy's power after the October 2016 death at age 88 of Vajiralongkorn's revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It also comes amid more than a decade of political strife, including a 2014 military coup and a contentious election less than two months ago.

After completing the rites, Vajiralongkorn issued his first royal command, which is supposed to set the tone for his reign. It closely echoed the words of his father's first command.

"I will pursue, preserve and extend, and reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever," the king said, according to an unofficial translation.

The 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn has served as king for more than two years since assuming the throne. On Saturday, he received his crown from the chief Brahmin, a Hindu priest who played a guiding role in the mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live across the nation on all channels.

The king, known as Rama X for being the 10th monarch in the Chakri dynasty, then placed atop his head the crown, which is more than 200 years old. The "Great Crown of Victory" is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high, weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and is ornamented with diamonds set in gold enamel. It was one of several pieces of royal regalia presented in homage to his power.

The king began the coronation proceedings wearing a simple white robe as he entered a small pavilion where he was briefly showered with water from several holy rivers and ponds and other sources. Other water was poured on him from old royal water vessels. The rite, known as the Royal Purification Ceremony, took place amid music from drums, conch shells and other instruments. Outside the palace, artillery was fired in a salute to the monarch.

A second rite, the Royal Anointment Ceremony, completed the consecration portion of his coronation, giving him the legitimacy of being a fully sovereign king. Vajiralongkorn — having changed into gold-embroidered royal vestments — was seated on an octagonal throne, with the sides representing the cardinal points of the compass, and a dignitary seated at each point. Each poured holy water over the king's hand, along with a ninth representing the heavens.

That rite ended with the monarch being presented with a nine-tiered white umbrella of state, symbolizing his full consecration.

"This ceremony is significant to Thailand because the monarchy ... is a very important institution of our country and is the soul of our nation," said Naowarat Buakluan, a civil servant. "If you ask why the ceremony is being held this year when his majesty has already ascended the throne, it's because this is the right moment. Previously we Thais were mourning the loss of our beloved late king."

Vajiralongkorn since taking the throne has tightened control over royal institutions and acted to increase his influence in his country's administration. The powers he acquired centralize royal authority in his hands and make explicit his right to intervene in government affairs, especially in times of political crisis.

He inherits a nation in political turmoil, with the powerful army entrenched in government for five years after staging a coup in 2014. An election held in March has been widely seen as rigged through convoluted election laws to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup and has headed the government since then.

Vajiralongkorn, said prominent intellectual and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, "doesn't like ceremony himself, personally, but when it is performed he wants it to be proper." When his father was cremated in 2017, Vajiralongkorn "insisted that everything had to be done properly."

"Likewise the coronation has to be done properly and he doesn't mind the expense, but it has to be done properly," Sulak said.

Vajiralongkorn presented his wife with the traditional regalia of a Thai queen as one of his first acts after being crowned. On Wednesday he appointed Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya to be the country's queen. His father Bhumibol married his bride, Sirikit Kitiyakara, just a week before his own coronation, at which he named her his queen. Now 86 but ailing, she survives him.

After the two and a half hours of ceremonies ended, Vajiralongkorn stepped from his throne, walked in front of other royal family members and scattered in his path tiny flowers of silver and gold, representing heavenly gifts for them to collect.

Despite not being able to see the king in person, civil servants in uniform and members of the public wearing garb in the royal color of yellow gathered outside the Grand Palace to pay their respects.

"I prepared to come here since a while ago, after I heard the news (about the coronation) and the appointment of the queen," said Praiwan Thasai, a vendor.

Later Saturday, the king was to receive members of the royal family, the Privy Council and Cabinet, among other senior officials, who will pay their respects. Afterward he will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to announce he is the royal defender of Buddhism. The day's events end with a ceremony of the Assumption of the Royal Residence, a symbolic palace housewarming.

On Sunday, there will be a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) royal procession involving 343 men, some of them carrying the king through old Bangkok in an ornately decorated palanquin, allowing Thais to pay homage to their new king.

Monday will see the king greet the public from the balcony of the Grand Palace in the late afternoon and then hold a reception for the diplomatic corps.

Here is a brief look at key moments for Thailand's revered monarchy:

That year King Rama I establishes the new capital of Siam on the banks of the Chao Praya river. It was the beginnings of modern-day Bangkok.

King Chulalongkorn, or Rama V, took power in 1868. Seen as a reformer, he modernised the economy and civil service, sending his children abroad for education.

One of his sons, a prince, falls in love with a commoner. In December 1927, she gives birth to future ruler Bhumibol Adulyadej in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

On June 24, 1932, King Prajadhipok falls in a bloodless coup. A constitutional monarchy is introduced by reformers in the government and military.

In 1935, Bhumibol's older brother, Ananda Mahidol, is crowned king of Thailand after his uncle Prajadhipok abdicates.

On June 9, 1946, his 18-year-old brother Bhumibol Adulyadej assumes the throne after Ananda dies in a mysterious shooting in his Grand Palace bedroom.

Royalists bring back rituals and customs reinforcing the monarchy's role in Thai society.

Bhumibol marries Queen Sirikit on April 28, 1950, a week before his coronation.

The king and queen have four children. Their only son is Vajiralongkorn.

Thailand was considered a key U.S. ally in the fight against communism as it spread through Southeast Asia.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the US flies bombing sorties from bases in the country. Thai troops known as the Queen's Cobras join the fight in Vietnam.

Thailand fights a simmering communist insurgency at home at a time when monarchs were ousted by left-wing forces in Cambodia and Laos.

In October 1973, scores are killed when a military dictatorship cracks down on pro-democracy protests.

Bhumibol asks the prime minister to leave the country and later appoints a new premier, leading to a brief flowering of democracy.

Three years later right-wing militias kill dozens of leftist students at Thammasat University.

The same year, 1976, the penalty for breaching Thailand's royal insult law is toughened to 15 years.

In 1992, hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters fill the streets of Bangkok demanding a return to civilian rule. Dozens are killed by the army in what is later known as "Black May".

In a dramatic televised broadcast, the king admonishes the two leaders from each side at the palace and tells them to reconcile, cementing his mythic status as a unifying force.

In 2006, a bloodless coup ousts billionaire and populist prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he is at the UN.

The coup sparks years of protests in a country split between Thaksin's supporters -- many of whom are in the rural north -- and his foes among the Bangkok-based elite in the palace, military and bureaucracy.

In August 2009, the king makes a rare speech warning that the country could collapse if feuding factions do not unite.

Thailand's junta seizes power in 2014 and topples the administration of Thaksin's sister Yingluck after months of violent street protests.

In September 2016, the palace announces the king has received treatment for a "severe" blood infection. Bhumibol dies the next month and Thailand is plunged into mourning.

In early 2019, a party linked to Thaksin puts forward Vajiralongkorn's older sister as its prime ministerial candidate, a shock move in a country where the monarchy is nominally above politics.

Vajiralongkorn scuttles the nomination of Princess Ubolratana, calling it "highly inappropriate."

Days before Vajiralongkorn's May 4 coronation the palace announces he has married Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, a former flight attendant who joined his royal guard.

She is invested as Queen during the first day of the ceremony.</s>King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Rama X of Thailand, was crowned Saturday in a dazzling show of pageantry, laced with Hindu and Buddhist ritual, vowing to reign "with righteousness" on behalf of the Thai people.

Starting at the auspicious time of 10:09 am (0309 GMT), the public was granted a rare window into the cloistered halls of Thai power as the key rituals of the three-day coronation began.

King Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

He ascended the throne over two years ago following the death of his beloved father, but waited until after a long mourning period before setting his coronation date.

Saturday's sombre ceremony opened with the white-gowned king -- the folds of his robe leaving one shoulder bared -- receiving sacred water from across Thailand and dabbing it gently across his face at a shrine inside the Grand Palace complex.

A cannon salute marked the moment as pipes played and Buddhist monks chanted.

Several grey-haired Hindu Brahmins were also in attendance at the syncretic ceremony, which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to divine figure.

He later took his seat under the umbrella of state and was handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

Uttering his first, brief royal command he vowed to reign "with righteousness" for the benefit of the Thai people.

His fourth wife, Suthida -- married in a surprise ceremony days before the coronation -- was invested as Queen, kneeling in respect in front of her husband who sat on a throne.

For most Thais, it is the first time they have witnessed the pomp and grandeur of a coronation -- the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

"I'm excited to have a chance to be a part of this... I'm here to capture people's emotions," said Jakarin Kerdchok, 16, a volunteer student taking photos near the palace.

Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace.

But only a modest number of civilians braved the hot sun for the royal convoy.

"I'm really happy and proud because as citizens, we have the best king and queen in Thailand or even the world," said Pornthip Pongsai, a resident of Ang Thong province who travelled hours to catch a glimpse.

The king held a grand audience with members of the royal family, the privy council and senior officials later in the afternoon at the Grand Palace.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom until his death in October 2016.

His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, spending time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects.

Fiercely private and four times married, he has inherited one of the world's richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged by political crisis.

Thailand has been run by an arch-royalist junta since 2014.

Rama X is widely seen as an adroit player of Thailand's treacherous politics, intervening several times -- including in the March 24 election -- during his short reign.

Those elections are yet to yield a new government, with the kingdom split between pro and anti-junta blocs, the latter crying foul over the vote count so far.

Full results are due to be announced next week with the ruling junta tipped to return as the civilian government.

"The coronation distracts from the popular indignation regarding election irregularities," said Thai politics expert Paul Chambers of Naresuan University.

The Thai monarchy takes primacy in the country's power pyramid, but it is buttressed by the army.

The military regime drove a wide-ranging image campaign in the months and weeks leading up to the coronation, as Vajiralongkorn's visage appeared on money, stamps and in front of government offices and banks closer to the ceremony.

Junta leaders past and present were prominent in Saturday's ceremonies.

Earlier, the king arrived at the Grand Palace in a cream Rolls-Royce, his hand raised in a wave but his face characteristically inscrutable.

On Friday, the king warmly greeted family members, a rare glimpse of royal family intimacy broadcast on Thai television, including his 14-year-old son from his third marriage -- Prince Dipangkorn -- and his elder sister Ubolratana.

She stunned Thailand in February when her name was forwarded as a candidate for premier by an anti-junta party -- a move swiftly shot down by her brother in a rare royal command.

Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible.

Thailand's normally hyperactive social media has been subdued in the days leading up to the coronation.

Born on July 28, 1952, the British-schooled Vajiralongkorn is known for his love of cycling and piloting jets, but he spends much of his time abroad -- mainly in Germany -- and remains something of a mystery to many Thais.</s>BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn donned white robes and began purification rituals on Saturday before being officially crowned in intricate ceremonies.

King Vajiralongkorn, 66, inherited the throne from his revered father after his death in 2016 following a 70-year reign.</s>Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayutthaya, the new wife of Thailand's monarch, has often been pictured in his retinue at various events, but her elevation as Queen Consort just three days before King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation took many by surprise.

Rumours of a romantic linkage have been swirling for some time now, first surfacing after the former flight attendant was made a deputy commander of the King's bodyguards in August 2014.

The King and Queen Suthida - born Ms Suthida Tidjai - are known to spend most of their time shuttling between Thailand and Germany, where the monarch owns a US$12 million (S$16.3 million) mansion on the shores of Lake Starnberg in Munich.

One of King Vajiralongkorn's sons from a previous marriage is also known to live with them.

In December 2016, the Queen was made a full general and, in June 2017, she was elevated to the rank of acting commander of the Royal Thai Aide-de-Camp Department following the reorganisation of the Royal Security Command.

The King, 66, had also given the Queen, 40, the royal title of Than Phu Ying, which means High Lady, further fuelling the rumour mills.

Still, the announcement in Thailand's Royal Gazette that the King has legally married Queen Suthida was a bolt out of the blue, especially given the fact that the date of their marriage was not specified.

As the wife of Thailand's ruler - who is reportedly the world's richest monarch, with assets of at least US$30 billion under his control - Queen Suthida will wield immense powers behind the scenes in the country.

Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara, the wife of King Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was a formidable figure who forged strong links to the country's business and military elite.

She was always by her husband's side, but retreated from public life in the years before he died, due to her own battles with ill health.

She was last seen last year receiving birthday wishes from her children, according to a picture released by the palace.

This is the fourth marriage for the King, whose colourful personal life has been staple tabloid fare overseas, though strict lese majeste laws have limited the coverage at home.

He married his first wife, his cousin Princess Soamsawali Kitiyakara, in 1977. They had a daughter before their divorce in 1991.

A niece of Queen Sirikit, she remains influential in Thailand, having received the title of "the Princess Mother of the King's First Grandchild" after the divorce.

King Vajiralongkorn's next two marriages to commoners did not end as amicably.

In 1994, he married actress Sujarinee Vivacharawongse. She had been his steady companion since the late 1970s and gave birth to four sons and a daughter.

However, the marriage - which did not have the blessings of Queen Sirikit - did not last long, with Ms Sujarinee fleeing to Britain in 1996 with her children. She now lives with her sons in the United States, while her daughter returned to live with her father in Thailand.

The King's third marriage to Ms Srirasmi Suwadee - who served as his "lady-in-waiting" in the 1990s - in 2001 also ended in acrimony in 2014. The couple had a son together.

The marriage ended abruptly in 2014, when the then Crown Prince sent a letter to the Interior Ministry asking for her family members to be stripped of their royal titles, ostensibly after seven members were accused of corruption.

The 47-year-old Srirasmi was also stripped of her royal titles.

Since ascending to the throne, King Vajiralongkorn has reorganised affairs at the palace to his liking.

The vastly wealthy Crown Property Bureau is now under his stewardship and he has picked new privy counsellors and established a highly trained personal guard.

Most recently, he barred his sister, Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, from contesting in the country's general election as the prime ministerial candidate of a party aligned with the Shinawatra clan.</s>Officials salute as King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida arrive at the Grand Palace during his coronation in Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha</s>Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn sitting on a golden royal palanquin following his coronation ceremony at the Grand Palace in Bangkok yesterday.

Also known as King Rama X, he was formally crowned yesterday as part of an elaborate three-day ceremony, over two years after he ascended the throne. It is the country's first coronation in almost seven decades.

King Vajiralongkorn is the 10th King of the Chakri dynasty.

Following his coronation, the King made his first royal command, promising to reign with righteousness.

He then proceeded to install Queen Suthida, the deputy commander of his bodyguard unit who was announced as his wife on Wednesday.

SEE TOP OF THE NEWS</s>BANGKOK - The king of Thailand has married the deputy head of his personal security detail, and given her the title of queen, a royal statement has said. The surprise announcement comes before his elaborate coronation ceremonies begin on Saturday, when his position is consecrated.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, became the constitutional monarch after the death of his much-loved father in 2016. He has been married and divorced three times before and has seven children.

A royal statement said: King Vajiralongkorn “has decided to promote General Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, his royal consort, to become Queen Suthida and she will hold royal title and status as part of the royal family”.

Queen Suthida is King Vajiralongkorn’s long-term partner and has been seen with him in public for many years, though their relationship has never before been officially acknowledged. Footage from the wedding ceremony was shown on Thai TV channels late Wednesday, showing other members of the royal family and palace advisers in attendance. The king is seen pouring sacred water on the head of Queen Suthida. The couple then sign a marriage registry. In 2014 Vajiralongkorn appointed Suthida Tidjai, a former flight attendant for Thai Airways, as the deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. He made her a full general in the army in December 2016. The previous king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, ruled for 70 years, making him the longest-reigning monarch in the world when he died in 2016.</s>Thailand's Maha has officially crowned the reigning monarch on Saturday, after his father, the late passed away in October 2016.

"I will continue to preserve, develop and rule the land with justice for the benefits of all Thai people," the new said shortly after being crowned in a ceremony at the Chakrabat Biman Royal Residence at the here. He was flanked by two men wearing military uniforms during his address.

In an event marked by elements from both Buddhist and Hindu faiths, the new King donned an elaborate gold crown weighing around seven kilograms while sitting on his throne beneath a nine-tier umbrella. Only the King is permitted to sit under the nine-tier umbrella in Thailand, which signifies the reigning monarch's connection with heaven.

Cannons were fired in honour of the new King, as Thai citizens around the country wore yellow to commemorate the crowning, which is being held for the first time in 69 years. The colour yellow is associated with the monarch's day of birth, according to

is the 10th member of the dynasty, making him King Rama X. The dynasty has ruled since Rama I took the throne in 1782.

Just days before the coronation, he married his royal consort, Suthida Na Ayudhya, declaring her as the of the nation. The wedding ceremony took place at the in on May 1 and was attended by members of the royal Prayut Chan-o-cha amongst others.

"I am happy to see this event. Now we have a full King the country will be better. This ceremony is an auspicious thing to see. I am so proud of it," a 62-year-old Thai citizen, watching the coronation outside the palace, told

The official coronation ceremony will last three days. It began with a purification ritual which used water collected from all 76 provinces on Saturday. Preparations for the ceremony have been underway ever since the passing away of King Rama IX in 2016.
Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand since 2016, is officially crowned sovereign. His wife Suthida Tidjai, who he had married only three days prior, is declared Queen consort.