In 1969, Thailand began to hold a three-day coronation and enthronement ceremony for King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand on May 4. Despite decades of writing absurdities with life, the crown that symbolizes the kingship of Thailand's Rama dynasty was finally worn on Vajiralongkorn's head.
On May 4, Thailand held a coronation ceremony for the king.
According to Thailand's Royal Family Gazette, the entire coronation ceremony will last three days, with the highlight being the coronation ceremony on May 4. Before the coronation ceremony held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. local time on May 4, Vajiralongkorn took off his white military uniform and replaced it with a white robe, accepted more than 100 holy waters from all over the country in the Grand Palace, and completed the pre-coronation "purification" ceremony by showering with "empowerment holy water".
Monks use "holy water" to "purify" Vajiralongkorn
This step is extremely important and is considered to be a crucial step in the transformation of the King of Thailand from a man to a "god". At the ceremony on the 4th, the "holy water" collected from more than 100 places in Thailand by eight high-ranking people from the two worlds of holiness and folklore poured on the hands of Vajiralongkorn, symbolizing that he had been crowned with holy water and sublimated into Tifhara, the incarnation of the deified Thai king and Pirsinu in the human world.
Among the eight "givers", in addition to Thailand's most important enlightened monks, they also include Princess Sirindhorn, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Brahmin priests, etc., symbolizing Vajiralongkorn's legitimacy in governing Thailand.
The priests offered 28 royal treasures to the king
A subtle change is that before the official coronation, Vajiralongkorn, although it succeeded to the throne in 2016, will still be a "human" and can only use a seven-layer white umbrella; after the coronation of holy water, after the completion of the deification ceremony, Vajiralongkorn can use the nine-layer white umbrella.
After the "Empowerment of Holy Water", Vajiralongkorn wore an imperial robe and sat high on the "Octagonal Eucalyptus Throne" with nine layers of white umbrellas in the Pizza Tahin Throne Hall of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and accepted 28 royal treasures offered by the Brahmin priests, including 5 sacred objects representing the royal power, including: the golden crown with a spire, a golden sheathed sword, a wooden walking stick, a golden fan and a tail dust, and a pointed golden shoe. Subsequently, Vajiralongkorn wore a crown weighing 7.3 kilograms.
The 5 hallows representing the kingship of the Rama dynasty
Since Rama IV, the Thai royal family has had a new tradition of following the example of European royal families, believing that only when the king wears the crown can he have supreme power. Thus, from May 4, the 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn finally became the supreme king of Thailand.
After the coronation, Vajiralongkorn will issue the first royal decree – "I will continue to maintain the fullness and rule of law over the country for the benefit and well-being of the territory and its people forever." "It is the same as the first royal decree issued by the old Thai king Bhumibol in 1950. Later, Vajiralongkorn received members of the royal family, the Privy Council, the Cabinet and other members of the cabinet, as well as senior officials, received their blessings, and then went to the Emerald Buddha Temple to swear to the Buddha that he would become the guardian of Buddhism.
Grand Palace Salute Team on standby for the coronation ceremony
On 5 and 6 May, Vajiralongkorn, who has ascended the throne as the new King of Thailand, will hold a series of ceremonies, starting with the 5th Oft-Day Kingship Celebration, when members of the royal family will receive the new title from the new King of Thailand. Among them was Princess Sirindhorn, who had been a candidate for the Crown Prince of Thailand.
Another important ceremony on the 5th is the New Thai King Parade. Thailand last held this parade 69 years ago in 1950, so thais under the age of 70 have never experienced it in their lives, which is a big deal. According to the Royal Gazette, The new King Vajiralongkorn will sit on a palanquin and be escorted by the royal guards and honor guards to parade along the streets outside the palace to accept the worship of the people.
On May 4, the coronation ceremony was held
On the 6th, in order to show his affinity for the people, Vajiralongkorn will also hold a series of meetings, including receiving representatives of the people on the balcony of the Palace of King Botai Shawang Bassa on the east side of the Grand Palace, of course, it is not ordinary people who can be allowed to meet. After this, Vajiralongkorn will return to the Grand Palace and go to the Palace of King Jieki Mahabasa to meet with the ambassadors to Thailand.
Born on 28 July 1952 in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Vajiralongkorn was the only son of the last King Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.
Bhumibol with Vajiralongkorn in childhood
From 1966 onwards, Vajiralongkorn went to England and Australia for secondary education, and from August 1970 he studied at the Royal School of Balamata in Sydney, Australia. In 1972, at the age of 20, Vajiralongkorn was made the first heir to the Thai throne.
In 1972, Vajiralongkorn was crown prince.
Bhumibol died in October 2016, and on 1 December of the same year, Vajiralongkorn accepted a request from Poon Bey, President of the Legislative Assembly, to succeed him as King Rama X of Thailand.
So far, Vajiralongkorn, 66, has been married four times. In January 1977, she married Queen Sirikit's niece, Songsavali Gidiyakon, and the two had a daughter, Princess Padyapa, who eventually divorced in 1980.
Since 1978, she has lived with Yuvadhida polpraserth for many years, having four sons and a daughter, and then because the female cheating officer was deposed, the fourth son was also expelled from Thailand, not recognized by the Thai royal family, only the youngest daughter Princess Sirivan Navarre remained in Thailand, and the formal marriage relationship between the two was only from 1994 to 1996.
Vajiralongkorn with his second wife and children.
Since 2001, he has lived with Monsiramy Mahidun Naayuthay in the Palace of Nonthaburi, and in 2005 Monsi rami gave birth to Prince Tibanggong, the only grandson recognized by Bhumibol. In 2014, Vajiralongkorn divorced Monsirammi due to his family's involvement in a corruption case.
Vajiralongkorn with his third wife and Prince Tibanggong.
In 2013, Vajiralongkorn met a Thai Airlines sister on a plane, now Queen Sutilda. In the same year, he placed Sutida in the King's Guard, and the following year Suthida was appointed Deputy Commander of the Then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn Guard.
Vajiralongkorn with his fourth wife
About how Sutilda went from a flight attendant to queen, the storyline can withstand all kinds of brain patches. Although Suthida has appeared in public with Vajiralongsu many times over the years, the Thai royal family has never publicly acknowledged their relationship. The turning point occurred after the death of the old Thai king Bhumibol. Bhumibol passed away in October 2016, and two months later, Vajiralongkorn succeeded to the throne. The first thing he did after succeeding to the throne was to appoint Sutilda as admiral (she had been a flight attendant three years ago) and to confer royal titles; in 2017, he appointed her deputy commander of the Personal Guard. On May 1 of this year, Vajiralongkorn announced their marriage and gave them the title of "Queen Suthida".