This is a special weekend in Bangkok and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s the first time in 69 years that Thailand has had a new King. Thailand is celebrating King Vajiralongkorn’s coronation with three days of age-old ceremonies. .
KING RAMA X:
King Vajiralongkorn’s is also known under Thai tradition as King Rama X, the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty. He has had a busy week as there has also been a royal wedding. King Rama X, quietly married his consort General Suthida, as the country’s Queen three days earlier.
THE CORONATION CEREMONIES:
We have been trying to understand some of the elaborate ceremonies which have seen the Preparation of Sacred waters and the King being bathed in holy water, inscribing of Royal Golden Plaques and the Engraving of the Real Seal of State.
lèse majesté:
We were able to watch the ceremony live on Thai television as all the channels replaced their usual news and sports channels with coronation coverage. Interestingly I usually look towards the BBC for help with world events, but there is a block on BBC World’s reporting of events in Thailand. Anytime Thailand is mentioned, we just see a blank screen with the words ‘Program will be resumed shortly’
In Thailand, the lèse majesté laws forbid any criticism of the royal family. They are the strictest such rules in the world. I am never quite sure whether our BBC news blackout comes from Thailand or from the BBC looking to protect its employees.
“Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.”
Those of us living and writing about Thailand need to respect the lèse majesté law.
KING RAMA IX:
King Rama’s coronation comes after the October 2016 death of his Father the much loved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. King Rama IX reigned for seven decades. So this weekends coronation is a first for many Thais to witness and enjoy.
Won’t you take a wander with me? Let’s hail a Tuk Tuk and explore how Bangkok is preparing for this coronation celebration.
THE ROYAL LAND PROCESSION:
The first day of the coronation takes place within the Grand Palace, but today His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn will take a Royal Land Procession around the Grand Palace and he will stop at different temples along the way. The procession covers about 7 km starts at 4.30 pm and we are told it could take up to four and a half hours to complete as many people will want to pay their respects to the new King of Thailand.
WEARING YELLOW:
As a mark of respect Thai’s people are wearing the King’s colour yellow. We are also dressed in yellow today also and many Thai’s have thanked us for showing such respect to their country.
I am getting quite a royal wardrobe as I still have all my black clothes from the year-long period of mourning for King Rama IX.
The government has urged the public to wear a yellow shirt bearing the royal emblem of His Majesty the King from April until July as part of nationwide celebrations of the royal coronation in May. So I’m guessing I will get quite some use from my new yellow T-shirt!
FLOWERS AND FLAGS:
We really enjoyed wandering around seeing how the city and it’s people are preparing for the Coronation Land Procession. The city is adorned with so many flags fluttering in the breeze. Everywhere you look on the official route are flowers, orchids create a blaze of colour. Just look at the work that has gone into every tree along the route. It is absolutely stunning.
Not only that, but many buildings in Bangkok have been adorned in yellow and white.
Just look at McDonald’s. Who’d have thought when they created a corporate brand of white and yellow all those years ago, it would be perfect for the King’s coronation in Thailand!
Other buildings along the route have also been decorated from top to toe!
It appears they have thought of everything… wheelchairs ready for tomorrow.
We thoroughly enjoyed being in Thailand at this special time. I hope you’d be able to pop back tomorrow as we join the crowds to watch the King’s street procession.
Thank you for joining me today part of the Blogging from A-Z challenge
Wren’s Worldwide Wanderings:
T is for Thailand
Linking with thanks to Angie at Mosaic Monday
6 comments
I’ve been thinking about you being in the right spot for the Coronation, what an experience. Your fitcation looks wonderful too. x
What an interesting post to read! Thailand is so far away from Finland… Beautiful decorations too around the city. Thank you for sharing.
Wren – this is so fascinating! I truly appreciate that you have shared just a sliver of Thailand’s traditions with respect to the death of one king and the coronation of the next. My favorite picture in this post is the flower “leis” on the trees. So intricate! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!
Wow, that must be quite the sight.
I’ve learned so much about Thailand from reading your blog and seeing your facebook posts. It is so fascinating! I’d love to visit Thailand one day and see many of these beautiful places but for now, I’m enjoying your adventures.
I like the flowers wrapped around the trees, which now I will imagine seeing how I could achieve that look in our yard. That’s very thoughtful of the government to provide wheelchairs. An interesting law, one that I’m sure if the guy in the White House knew about would want.