LIVE updates: Coronation of the Thai monarch
The coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn is Thailand's first in nearly seven decades.
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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn greeted thousands of his subjects from a balcony of his Grand Palace on the third and final day of coronation ceremonies. Read more.- The king and queen were greeted with a band playing the royal anthem and a 21-gun salute
- The coronation started on Saturday, after a long period of official mourning for the king’s revered father
- On Sunday, the king was carried through the streets on a gilded palanquin for the royal procession
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Officials collected water in ceremonies across the country for use in the purification and anointment ceremonies on May 4 before the crowning ritual. Read more- The use of water is based on a Brahmin tradition that dates back to 18th-century coronation ceremonies
- The waters were collected between 11.52 a.m. to 12:38 p.m. - times deemed especially auspicious in Thai astrology - by senior officials from more than 100 water sources across 76 Thai provinces
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Thai culture is steeped in astrology and other forms of divination, such as palm reading, tarot cards, and Feng Shui, which all sit comfortably in the country’s brand of Buddhism. So, it is no surprise that astrology plays a key role in the coronation ceremonies of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn. More here -
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Thailand’s royal astrologer cast King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s horoscope in an important ritual ahead of his coronation ceremonies. Read more- Saffron-clad Buddhist monks chanted as the horoscope was cast on a golden plaque
- The three-hour ceremony included the inscription of the king’s name and new royal title on another golden plaque, and the carving of the king’s official seal
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Take a look at the key rituals and events for King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation. Read more -
Forty roads were closed in Bangkok as a band and officers on horseback marched past the Grand Palace in a dress rehearsal for coronation ceremonies from May 4 to 6. Read more.- King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father in 2016 after 70 years on the throne
- Vajiralongkorn's coronation in May follows a mourning period for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose grand funeral was held a year after his death
- Official coronation a mix of Buddhist religious ceremonies and Hindu Brahmin rituals
- Vajiralongkorn to be crowned on May 4, procession follows the next day
- On May 6, a national holiday, Vajiralongkorn will meet Thai and foreign dignitaries
- Thais invited to wear yellow - a color associated with the monarch and his late father
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Plai Ekachai, a 33-year-old male elephant, has been treated with reverence as a deity after being identified as the first auspicious white elephant to be discovered under the reign of King Rama X, as the monarch is also known. Read more.- The elephant will be presented as a gift to the new king sometime after this weekend’s coronation ceremonies
- In Thai Buddhism, the appearance of white elephants is associated with the moral authority of a monarch
- King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s late father received 10 white elephants during his 70-year reign
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Just days before his official coronation, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Wednesday married the deputy head of his personal guard force and gave her the title Queen Suthida. Read more.
- The surprise announcement was carried in Royal Gazette, and footage from Wednesday’s wedding ceremony was shown on the Royal News segment aired on TV channels
- In 2014, Vajiralongkorn appointed Suthida Tidjai, a former flight attendant for Thai Airways, as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit
- Some royal observers and foreign media had linked Suthida romantically with the king, but the palace had previously never acknowledged a relationship between them
- Among the dignitaries at the wedding were Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the military junta that has run Thailand since a 2014 army coup
- Vajiralongkorn is due to be officially crowned in elaborate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies on Saturday, followed by a procession through Bangkok the next day
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During Thailand’s main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 4, the monarch will be presented with five royal regalia, which are treated as symbols of kingship, marking the legitimacy of his reign.
Here's a look at the five royal instruments that will play a vital role in making King Maha Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, the 10th divine monarch of Thailand’s Chakri dynasty. Read more. -
A monarch’s coronation is given the utmost priority in Thailand, where kings have traditionally held divine status, and that is reflected in some astounding numbers. Take a look.
Thailand’s coronation ceremonies for King Maha Vajiralongkorn from May 4 to 6 will be the first the Southeast Asian nation has seen in 69 years.
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Thailand has a new queen just in time for the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in elaborate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies this weekend in Bangkok.- Suthida, 40, is expected to participate in some of the coronation events
- Click to know more about the new queen
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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn will take the formal title King Rama X at his official coronation this weekend.
Here's what you need to know about the nine previous kings in the Chakri dynasty -
- Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be officially crowned as the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty on May 4
- The 66-year-old constitutional monarch had a pre-coronation surprise for his subjects: He married for the fourth time on Wednesday
- During 18 months of his reign so far, Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, has moved to consolidate the authority of the monarchy
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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn begins intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies today to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowns its first monarch in nearly seven decades. Read moreOn Friday, the king conducted final rituals in preparation for three days of ceremonies for his elaborate coronation, which will also be marked by the pardoning and release from jail of some prisoners. -
- For many in the West, the Thai monarchy is often associated with the character played by Yul Brynner in the 1956 Hollywood musical "The King and I"
- That film is banned in Thailand because its depiction of King Mongkut - the current king's great-great grandfather - is deemed disrespectful and false
- King Mongkut, who reigned from 1851 to his death in 1868, is seen by many historians as a reformist for his time. Read more.
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- King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been listed as the world’s richest monarch by publications
- Estimates of Vajiralongkorn’s personal wealth start at $30 billion
- Here's a look at some of the Thai king’s most significant assets
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Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn completes Buddhist and Brahmin rituals that symbolically transform him into a living god. Read more.
- Thailand's first coronation in 70 years was held in Bangkok's Grand Palace throne hall
- The monarch was joined by new Queen Suthida
- The elaborate three-day ceremonies follow a mourning period for the king's father
- Thai culture reveres king as living god, patron of Buddhism
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Thailand’s newly crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn will greet his subjects on Sunday in a royal procession, a day after completing ornate rituals to become the country’s first new divine monarch in nearly seven decades. More here -
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Crowds of Thai people lined roads under Bangkok’s blazing sun for the royal procession of newly crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn, hoping to get a glimpse of the constitutional monarch who is revered in Thai culture as a living deity. More here. -
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Animal lovers in Thailand were thrown into confusion on Sunday over whether a Siamese cat presented to the newly crowned Thai king and his queen was a living feline - or not. More here. -
Thailand began the third and final day of coronation ceremonies for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will meet foreign diplomats and greet his subjects from atop a balcony, a day after a grand procession through Bangkok. More here.
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