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King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died at the age of 88 on 13 October 2016 (B.E. 2559), after a long illness. A year-long period of mourning was subsequently announced. A royal cremation ceremony took place over five days at the end of October 2017. The actual cremation, which was not broadcast on television, was held in the late evening of 26 October 2017. [1] Following cremation his remains and ashes were taken to the Grand Palace and were enshrined at the Chakri Maha Phasat Throne Hall (royal remains), the Royal Cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit and the Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Royal Temple (royal ashes). Following burial, the mourning period officially ended on midnight of 30 October 2017 and Thais resumed wearing colors other than black in public.
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Announcement of the death of the King on the Television Pool of Thailand |
King Bhumibol Adulyadej had been treated at Siriraj Hospital since 3 October 2014. [2] The king had a high fever due to sepsis, which improved following antibiotics treatment. [3] Until 28 September 2016, King Bhumibol developed a low grade fever as a consequence of pneumonitis and required further treatment with antibiotics. The king subsequently developed organ failure owing to hypotension and became dependent on hemodialysis due to kidney failure. King Bhumibol's condition became significantly unstable due to evolving acute hepatitis. [4]
The king died at Siriraj Hospital on 13 October 2016 at 15:52 local time. The Bureau of the Royal Household officially announced his death at 18:45, less than 3 hours after the actual time of his passing, although Scottish journalist and author Andrew MacGregor Marshall reported the death several hours before the official announcement by the royal palace. [5] [6] [7]
On 14 October 2016, the body of the late king was carried by an autocade from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace. His body left Gate 8 of the hospital around 16:30. As the cortege passed Arun Ammarin Road, Phra Pin Klao Bridge, and Ratchadamnoen Road, crowds of Thais, most clad in black and many openly sobbing, paid homage. Led by Somdej Phra Vanarata (Chun Brahmagutto), the abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, the autocade entered the palace via Thewaphirom Gate. Upon arrival at the palace, the body was given the bathing rite, presided over by the late king's son, King Vajiralongkorn. The event was live broadcast on television by the television pool of Thailand. [8]
The general public were allowed to take part in a symbolic bathing rite in front of the king's portrait at Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion within the Grand Palace later that day. [9]
The king's body lay in state at the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall of the Grand Palace for a period of one year, with daily rites for a period of 100 days. As in the funerals of the king's mother and sister, the king's body was not physically placed in the royal funerary urn (kot) as was customary; instead, the coffin which housed the body was placed behind the pedestal displaying the royal urn. [10] Special rites attended by King Vajiralongkorn were held to mark the 7th, 15th, 50th and 100th days since the king's death. After the 15th day, the public were allowed to pay their respects and attend the lying-in-state in the Grand Palace. By the end of the allowed public attendance on 30 September 2017 (later pushed forward to 5 October the same year), over 12 million people had paid their respects in person, a historic record crowd that, including foreign tourists and expats living in Thailand, broke all-time attendance records [11] and left an estimated 890 million Thai baht in donations for the royal charity activities. [12]
The foreign dignitaries who attended the lying-in-state or paid respect at the Grand Palace were as follows (by order of their visit):
Special nationwide services in all Buddhist temples together with a general 100th day memorial service were held to mark the 100 day mark since his death on 20 January 2017 with King Vajiralongkorn presiding over the national service. [31]
On 28 February 2017, a special Royal Kong Tek Chinese Buddhist ceremony was held, presided by King Vajiralongkorn at the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall and was led by monks from the Thai Teochew Chinese Buddhist community in the Bangkok area. The service was in keeping with Chinese Buddhist rites and customs regarding the dead. The Kong Tek ceremony was a Buddhist religious ceremony unique to the Chinese wherein the deceased, together with his personal effects and clothing, was transferred ceremonially to the next life, with special prayers and chants sung by monks. The event was unprecedented since it was the first time such a ritual was held for any member of the Thai royal family in an official capacity. [32]
The public square Sanam Luang used as the cremation ground, where the construction of an elaborate, temporary crematorium was started in early 2017 and took only 8 months to complete. [34] The government granted one billion baht, deducted from central budget, to cover the construction. [35] Once the cremation is over, the crematorium opens for public visits for a month before being torn down in January 2018. [36]
Designs for the cremation complex were officially unveiled on 28 October 2016, and a special ceremony was held on 19 December for the royal funeral chariots to be used at the Bangkok National Museum. [37] [38] [39] The construction work for the complex officially commenced on 27 February 2017 with the building of the central column with a September target completion date. [40] [41] The crematorium was the biggest, largest and tallest yet since the state cremation rites for King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) in 1911. [42]
On 19 November the Ministry of Culture's Fine Arts Department head Anant Chuchote visited Nakhon Pathom, where the royal funeral urns have been manufactured for centuries out of old sandalwood trees. He asked for public support and assistance for the making of the royal urn alongside 150 artisans from the Traditional Arts Office. [43] The department issued a job hiring call in the middle of January 2017 for prospective workers in the Sanam Luang royal crematorium complex and for the needed chariot repair and upgrading works. [44]
As of 12 February 2017, the government pavilion and the Buddhist chapel were under construction. Concurrently, the Royal Thai Army began manufacturing a new royal cannon chariot for the state cremation ceremonies, a first after many years, timed to be completed in April 2017 for delivery to the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture. [45] The designs of the buildings combine both Thai traditional and modern building design and construction methods. [46]
The construction process for the royal crematorium (Phra Merumas (Golden Crematorium)) [33] itself commenced with due ceremony on the morning of 27 February 2017 in the Sanam Luang Plaza, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Thailand Gen (ret) Prayut Chan-o-cha. At the right moment, the central steel beam of the building was hoisted using a crane towards its spot in the plaza worksite after a Brahmin blessing was bestowed on it. [47]
By 1 April, the crematorium complex area had seen construction work faster than the usual practice for royal cremations, with all buildings in the middle of the construction phrase earlier than expected. The FAD had also been tasked to undergo a major design remodeling for the main royal urn to be used in the ceremonies and an October date is expected to be chosen for the events. [48] [49] The cannon chariot which was based on those used in British state and royal funerals was officially finished by the end of the month and delivered to the FAD so that the decoration process can begin in time for their debut in the funeral events later in the year. [50]
The national cremation in the Sanam Luang Plaza took place on 26 October 2017, 13 days after the 1st anniversary of the King's death. Just as in past state cremations since 1995, a special Khon performance was held in the plaza grounds, organized by The Foundation of the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand (SUPPORT) and the Bunditphatthanasilpa Institute. [51] Given the huge importance of such an event, the official practice runs for this began as early as 15–16 May with the RTA Ordnance Division spearheading the runs simulating the funeral procession of the major chariots at Saraburi province, with two military vehicles to serve as simulators. [52] For the royal puppet show, it was the first ever to feature a woman performer in keeping with the modern age - Ancharika Noosingha, 43 years old, who was the first female royal puppeteer in history, keeping a historic tradition from the Ayutthaya period. [53] The Fine Arts Department Royal Music and Drama Office organized the puppet play and its personnel form part of the cast who will perform on the cremation night.
The Nation reported on 11 May that the funeral crematorium and the monastic pavilion are almost ready for an early completion, the fastest yet for royal funerals in the modern era, and the prefabrication processes for the decorations to be used in the buildings are at the final stage. [54] At the same time, the sandalwood corn flowers used for state funerals were made to be used by citizens and foreign attendants attending the services, as the kalamet flowers, protected by law, will only be used in the royal crematorium. [55] The practice of making flowers from corn leaves, through, was a modern practice which began in 1925 during the state funeral of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI).
As of 24 September more than 5,500 people signed up to volunteer to serve during the cremation days. [56] To encourage greater public participation, several Thai provincial capitals had been building replica crematoriums to serve people who cannot be in Bangkok to pay their last respects on the cremation date [57] while both the public and tourists joining the events rode the Bangkok MRT system and the BTS Skytrain lines during the cremation days free of charge, as well as on the public ferries at Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (Hua Lamphong-Thewarat Market) and Khlong Pasicharoen (Phetchkasem 69-Pratunam Pasicharoen) and the Bangkok BRT. [58] The Ministry of Public Health was expected to deploy huge numbers of medical personnel to serve the public and foreign visitors during these days and provide medical assistance. [59] While social media live reports are prohibited for the TV networks (which broadcast the bilingual coverage of the events via the state Television Pool of Thailand and was aired via satellite and streamed worldwide online in both English and Thai via the official funeral webpage, the RTA Thai Global Network, NBT World and the YouTube channel of Thai PBS, the first time this has ever been done), people will still post live feeds but with difficulty and the national and international press have been given a special media center at the Thammasat University. [60]
In early August, plans were finalized to open the cremation site for public and tourist visitation after the cremation ceremonies. [61]
was livestreamed both in Thai and English via the official funeral website and FB page, NBT World and the Thai PBS and Channel 9 MCOT HD YouTube pages
The government declared a year-long mourning period for Bhumibol. Citizens were asked to refrain from participating in "joyful events" and entertainment for 30 days following his death; as a result, a number of events, including sports (such as the Thai League football season, which ended entirely), [72] were cancelled or postponed. Entertainment outlets such as cinemas, nightclubs and theatres announced that they would shut down or operate under reduced hours during this period. [73] [74] [75] The mourning period prompted concerns from Thailand's tourism industry, which felt that the mood of the country, as well as the cancelled events, would reduce interest in visiting Thailand. [74]
Upon the announcement of his death, all television channels suspended regular programming and simulcast special programmes from the television pool of Thailand, which consisted of videos and photos of Bhumibol, and coverage of royal events. International channels were blacked out and replaced by this programming, and all programming during this time was carried exclusively in monochrome. Following the funeral procession on 14 October 2016, the channels continued to air the pooled tribute content until midnight local time, after which they were allowed to resume regular programming in colour. However, for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period, all broadcasters were forbidden from broadcasting programmes that featured "any element of entertainment, dancing, joy, violence, impoliteness or overly expressed emotion", nor any non-official information, speculation or criticism related to the deceased King and his successor. Most Thai media outlets and websites switched to greyscale colour schemes as well. [76] [77] After a brief return to monochrome for the King's 1st death anniversary on 13 October 2017, colour television broadcasts, with the same restrictions are before, resumed on 19 October the same year. [78]
Out of respect for the mourning, many Thai malls, including all Central Pattana and The Mall Group properties, chose not to install extensive Christmas displays and decorations for the holiday season. Some installed memorials to Bhumibol instead. [79]
Since the death of the king, ultra-royalists in Thailand have criticized and harassed those who did not wear mourning black. [80] They also subjected to witch-hunts people whom they accused of disrespecting the deceased monarch. On 14 October 2016, angry ultra-royalist groups in Phuket Province thronged the residence of a man who posted on social media a number of comments which they thought offensive to the late king and violated the lèse-majesté law, despite the local police having declared that the comments were not in breach of the law. The groups dispersed after the police agreed to prosecute the man for the crime of lèse-majesté. [81] [82] Similar incidents happened on the following day in Phang Nga Province. [80]
In November 2016, Nangrong School in Buriram Province seized colourful winter jackets from students and required them to wear those in mourning colours only. The students were reportedly distressed to lose their jackets due to the cold weather, and many did not own multiple warm articles of clothing. [83]
On 28 November, the director of a public school in Ranong Province was removed from office for not wearing mourning black on her first day at work. [84]
The National Council for Peace and Order, the junta ruling Thailand, also announced after the death of Bhumibol that it will hunt down lèse-majesté fugitives. [85]
Bhumibol Adulyadej, conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great, was the ninth King of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IX. Reigning from 1946 until his death in 2016, he is the third-longest verified reigning sovereign monarch in world history after King Louis XIV and Queen Elizabeth II, reigning for 70 years and 126 days. His reign of over 70 years is the longest reign of any Thai monarch, and the longest native rule of any Asian sovereign.
Vajiralongkorn is King of Thailand.
Dusit is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand.
Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Naradhiwas was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej. She was also a direct granddaughter of King Chulalongkorn, and aunt of King Vajiralongkorn.
Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda was the only child of the King Vajiravudh of Thailand. She was a first cousin of King Bhumibol Adulyadej as well as a third cousin to Prince Bhisadej Rajani on her paternal side and third cousin of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia on her maternal side.
The Royal Plaza, or formally Dusit Palace Plaza, and also known among Thais as Equestrian Statue Plaza, is an important public square in the palace and government quarter of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
Sanam Luang is a 74.5 rai (119,200 m2) open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Sanam Luang is in the Phra Nakhon District, the historic center of Bangkok.
Valaya Alongkorn, Princess of Phetchaburi, was a princess of Siam, and a member of the Chakri dynasty. She was the daughter of King Chulalongkorn and Savang Vadhana. Her older brother Vajirunhis was the first Crown Prince of Siam. She was also the elder sister of Mahidol Adulyadej, the Prince of Songkla, and the full aunt of kings Ananda Mahidol and Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Thailand's Royal Barge Procession is a ceremony of both religious and royal significance which has taken place for nearly 700 years. The royal barges are a blend of craftsmanship and traditional Thai art. The Royal Barge Procession takes place rarely, marking only the most significant cultural and religious events. During the long reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, spanning over 70 years, the procession only occurred 16 times.
The Bangkok National Museum is the main branch museum of the National Museums in Thailand and also one of the largest museums in Southeast Asia. It features exhibits of Thai art and history. It occupies the former palace of the vice king, set between Thammasat University and the National Theater, facing Sanam Luang.
The Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella is considered the most sacred and ancient of the royal regalia of Thailand. A royal umbrella consists of many tiers, five for the prince, seven for the crown prince and unconsecrated king, and nine for a fully sovereign and crowned Thai king. Until the coronation rites are completed the new king will not be able to sit on the throne under the nine-tiered umbrella.
The Bureau of the Royal Household (BRH) is an agency of the monarchy of Thailand. In addition to a range of administrative and ceremonial responsibilities, the bureau also serves as a conduit for royal philanthropy.
Dusit Palace is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chulalongkorn. The palace, originally called Wang Suan Dusit or 'Dusit Garden Palace' (วังสวนดุสิต), eventually became the primary place of residence of the King of Thailand, including King Chulalongkorn, King Vajiravudh, King Prajadhipok, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and King Vajiralongkorn. The palace covers an area of over 64,749 square metres (696,950 sq ft) and is dotted between gardens and lawns with 13 different royal residences. Dusit Palace is bordered by Ratchwithi Road in the north, Sri Ayutthaya Road in the south, Ratchasima Road in the west and U-Thong Nai Road on the east.
A royal funeral chariot is a wheeled vehicle traditionally used to transport the bodies of royalty during funeral processions in some cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia. Today, they remain in use in Thailand and Cambodia.
Thai funerals usually follow Buddhist funerary rites, with variations in practice depending on the culture of the region. People of certain religious and ethnic groups also have their own specific practices. Thai Buddhist funerals generally consist of a bathing ceremony shortly after death, daily chanting by Buddhist monks, and a cremation ceremony. Cremation is practised by most peoples throughout the country, with the major exceptions being ethnic Chinese, Muslims and Christians.
Thai royal funerals are elaborate events, organised as royal ceremonies akin to state funerals. They are held for deceased members of the royal family, and consist of numerous rituals which typically span several months to over a year. Featuring a mixture of Buddhist and animist beliefs, as well as Hindu symbolism, these rituals include the initial rites that take place after death, a lengthy period of lying-in-state, during which Buddhist ceremonies take place, and a final cremation ceremony. For the highest-ranking royalty, the cremation ceremonies are grand public spectacles, featuring the pageantry of large funeral processions and ornate purpose-built funeral pyres or temporary crematoria known as merumat or men. The practices date to at least the 17th century, during the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Today, the cremation ceremonies are held in the royal field of Sanam Luang in the historic centre of Bangkok.
The royal cremation ceremony is the final and most major event during Thai royal funerals.
The coronation of Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) as king of Thailand took place on 4 May 2019 at the Grand Palace, Bangkok. He ascended the throne at the age of 64 upon the death of his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, on 13 October 2016, accepting the accession invitation by Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, on 1 December 2016. The coronation was held within just three years after his accession to the throne in 2016 because of an appropriate length of time to pass after the death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej and the arrangement of the ceremony after the last such rite having been held in 1950.
A busabok is a small open structure used in Thai culture as a throne for the monarch or for the enshrinement of Buddha images or other sacred objects. It is square-based and open-sided, usually with twelve indented corners, with four posts supporting a roughly pyramidal multi-tiered roof culminating in a pointed spire, and usually richly decorated. The structure of the multi-tiered roof is very similar, but much smaller in size, to the mondop architectural form. The term is derived from the Sanskrit word puṣpaka, a reference to the Pushpaka Vimana, a flying chariot from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
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