Thai king celebrated in post-coronation procession
May 5, 2019
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn has made his first public appearance since being crowned. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch him being paraded through the streets on a golden platform.
Thailand's newly crowned monarch began a 7-kilometer (4-mile) procession through the streets of Bangkok on Sunday which took him along cheering crowds to three Buddhist temples in different parts of the city. The parade is a part of the three-day coronation ritual for the 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The king left the Grand Palace on a golden palanquin borne by 16 men wearing orange. The parade was accompanied by cavalry soldiers, a military marching band and royal guards in a variety of ancient Thai and contemporary Western-style uniforms.
Tens of thousands of well-wishers brandishing both Thai and royal flags and wearing yellow — a color associated with the monarch — lined the route for the rare spectacle.
King Vajiralongkorn succeeded his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016 after a reign of almost 70 years.
The 66-year-old had already served as king for more than two years, throughout an official period of mourning.
During the procession — the king's first public appearance since he was crowned — he was scheduled to pay homage to the main Buddha images at each temple.
He received his crown on Saturday amid the splendor of Bangkok's Golden Palace in a mixed Buddhist-Hindu ceremony, which was televised live on all channels across the country.
The "Great Crown of Victory" is said to date from 1782. It is 66 centimeters (26 inches) high and weighs 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds).
Ornate coronation ceremonies in Thailand
Thailand is holding three days of coronation ceremonies for King Maja Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne in 2016. The ceremonies follow a period of mourning for his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
Wearing a 200-year-old crown
In one of Saturday's ceremonies, the king put on a crown weighing 7.3 kilograms (16 pounds) and measuring 66 centimeters (26 inches) in height. It symbolizes his royal powers, which include the right to intervene in government affairs. "I shall reign in righteousness for the benefits of the kingdom and the people forever," he said in his traditional first royal command.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Thai TV
Regal arrival
King Maja Vajiralongkorn arrived at the Grand Palace in Bangkok in a Daimler DE36 from the now-defunct British Daimler Company, with streets before the building lined with officials. Although he has already reigned as constitutional monarch since 2016, the ceremonies will fully and formally invest him with regal power.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
Army in attendance
No coronation would be complete without immaculately attired King's Guard soldiers. Thailand's army plays a major role in the country's politics and the country is currently ruled by a military junta since a 2014 coup. But opposition politicians are seeking to push the army out of politics.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Lalit
Artillery salute
Cannon were fired to salute the king while ceremonies began in the Grand Palace. Horns and pipes also accompanied the moment when the king was anointed with consecrated water taken from more than a hundred sites across the country.
Image: Reuters/A. Perawongmetha
Water purification ritual
The king donned a white robe for the Royal Purification Ceremony, which saw him showered with water from old royal water vessels. The rites are a combination of Hindu and Buddhist practices and go back centuries. The king, who will also be known as Rama X, is the 10th in the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.
Image: Reuters
Watching on television
The coronation, costing around $31 million (€27.6 million), was broadcast on television, with subjects also able to watch it on LED screens sited outside the palace. But people should avoid making any negative comments about the coronation or the king or they may risk severe penalties for lese-majeste.
Image: Getty Images/L. DeCicca
A royal procession
Wearing a traditional golden costume, the king was carried on a palanquin by orange-clad soldiers to greet more than 150,000 people sitting along the roads of Bangkok. Many of the spectators wore yellow — a color associated with the monarchy. The king's carriage was also surrounded by soldiers carrying swords and others playing music.
Later on Saturday, Vajiralongkorn held an audience for royal family members, the Privy Council and top government officials, and he visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, where he pledged to defend the Buddhist faith.
One of the many titles the new king will be known by, as the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty, is Rama X.
The country has been run by an archroyalist junta since 2014. Critics say that an election held in March was rigged to favor the military and its preferred candidate, Prayuth Chan-Ocha.
Prayuth led the coup that saw the powerful army entrenched in government, and he has led the junta since.