Kesang Choden (queen)

Last updated
Kesang Choden
The Royal Grandmother
Kesang Choden.jpg
Kesang Choden in 1950
Queen consort of Bhutan
Tenure30 March 1952 – 21 July 1972
Coronation 27 October 1952
Born (1930-05-21) 21 May 1930 (age 94)
Bhutan House, Kalimpong, India
Spouse
(m. 1951;died 1972)
Issue Sonam Choden Wangchuck
Dechen Wangmo Wangchuck
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Pema Lhaden Wangchuck
Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck
Names
Kesang Choden Wangchuck [fn 1]
House Dorji (by birth)
Wangchuck (by marriage)
FatherGongzim Sonam Tobgye Dorji
Mother Mayeum Choying Wangmo Dorji
Religion Buddhism
Kesang Choden behind her husband, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, on 30 January 1954. Maharaja of Bhutan at the International Lowcost Housing Exhibition.jpg
Kesang Choden behind her husband, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, on 30 January 1954.

Ashi Kesang Choden (born 21 May 1930) is the widow of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. [1] She participates in royal duties of her own accord. She is the only queen grandmother in the world. In Bhutan she is called The Royal Grandmother. [2]

Contents

Education

She was educated at the St Joseph's Convent, Kalimpong, India, as well as the House of Citizenship, London.[ citation needed ]

In her reminiscence, the Queen notes:

The Irish nuns of St. Joseph’s Convent were very well educated and taught us well. The nuns were most kind and loving to me and I in turn loved and respected them greatly.

Marriage and family

She married Crown Prince of Bhutan (Druk Gyalsey), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, at the Ugyen Pelri Thang Palace, Paro, on 5 October 1951.

She became Queen consort of Bhutan in 1952 when her husband, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, ascended to the throne upon the death of his father. In 1953 she was expecting her first child, a daughter. Her first daughter arrived earlier than she expected as she was waiting for a Western doctor and her mother to travel to Thimphu to help with the delivery. The previous Queen, Ashi Phuntsho Choden, her maid, and the Bhutanese doctor Phenchun helped to deliver her daughter. [3]

Her children with the Third Druk Gyalpo were:

Royal duties

In 1972, she was appointed regent when her husband was ill. She has also been a patron of annual prayers conducted for the well-being and security of the King, country, and the people. She provides subsistence allowance to about 500 monks and tshampas (lay monks) in various monasteries in Bumthang, Dokar Phurdrub Gompa and Euto Gompa in Paro, Nyala Gompa in Trongsa and Jangsa Gompa in Kalimpong, India. She also has a keen interest in preserving the unique art, architecture and cultural heritage of Bhutan and in promoting research and scholarship on the kingdom. She often visits religious places in Bhutan and India. [1]

In commemoration of the Royal Grandmother's 87th birth anniversary, a book titled "The Heart of a Sacred Kingdom, Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck: A Lifetime of Service to the People and Kingdom of Bhutan" was published on Sunday 21 May 2017. [4]

Ancestry

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jigme Singye Wangchuck</span> Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan from 1972 to 2006

Jigme Singye Wangchuck is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan from 1972 until his abdication in 2006. During his reign, he advocated the use of a Gross National Happiness index to measure the well-being of citizens rather than Gross domestic product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jigme Wangchuck</span> Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan from 1926 to 1952

Jigme Wangchuck was the 2nd Druk Gyalpo or king of Bhutan from 26 August 1926, until his death. He pursued legal and infrastructural reform during his reign. Bhutan continued to maintain almost complete isolation from the outside world during this period; its only foreign relations were with the British Raj in India, under which Bhutan was a protected state. He was succeeded by his son, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jigme Dorji Wangchuck</span> Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan from 1952 to 1972

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dechencholing Palace</span> Palace in Thimphu, Bhutan

Dechencholing Palace is located in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the north of the Tashichho Dzong and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city centre. It was built in 1953 by the third king of Bhutan Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.

DashoLhendup Dorji was a member of the Dorji family of Bhutan. He was also the brother of the Queen of Bhutan, Ashi Kesang choden and uncle to the fourth king of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He served as acting Lyonchen following the assassination of his brother, Lyonchen Jigme Palden Dorji, on April 5, 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Bhutanese throne</span>

The line of succession to the throne of Bhutan is based on the constitution of Bhutan. Currently the line of succession is according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture with males preceding females who are in the same degree of kinship. If the heir apparent has reached the age of majority of 21, the monarch would step down at age 65. If the heir apparent and the nearest people in the line of succession are deemed unsuitable, it is up to the monarch to decide who will be the next heir. If the monarch violates the constitution, they must abdicate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonam Dechen Wangchuck (born 1981)</span>

Princess Sonam Dechen Wangchuck is a princess of Bhutan. She is the daughter of the Fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. She is half-sister of the fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

Princess AshiKesang Choden Wangchuck, is a member of the royal family of Bhutan. She is a daughter of the fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, one of the former king's four wives, all of whom are sisters and held the title 'queen consort'. She is a half-sister of the current Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who became king following the abdication of his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck on 9 December 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tshering Pem</span> Queen consort of Bhutan

Tshering Pem is one of the four wives and queens of Bhutanese king Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who ruled until his abdication in 2006. She is the Queen Mother of Bhutan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorji Wangmo</span> Queen consort of Bhutan

Dorji Wangmo is the Queen Mother of Bhutan, and first wife of former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who is married to four sisters all of whom were entitled to be called queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangay Choden</span> Queen consort of Bhutan

Sangay Choden is one of the four wives and queens of Bhutanese king Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who ruled in Bhutan from 1972 until his abdication in 2006. She is the Queen Mother of Bhutan.

Wangchuk or Wangchuck is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:

Bhutan House is an estate located in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India, owned by the Dorji family of Bhutan. The site is the traditional administrative Dzong for southern Bhutan, and also functioned as the administrative center for the whole of western Bhutan during the modern kingdom's early years of consolidation. It represented the relationship between Bhutan and British India, and is a modern symbol of Bhutan–India relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jigme Namgyal (Bhutan)</span> Bhutanese ruler; Founder of the Wangchuck dynasty

Desi Jigme Namgyal of Bhutan is a forefather of the Wangchuck Dynasty. He served as 51st Druk Desi of Bhutan (1870–1873), and held the hereditary post of 10th Penlop of Trongsa. He was called the Black Ruler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jetsun Pema</span> Druk Gyaltsuen of Bhutan since 2011

Jetsun Pema is the Druk Gyaltsuen of Bhutan, as the wife of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. She is currently the youngest queen consort in the world. She and the King have three children: Jigme Namgyel, the heir apparent to the Bhutanese throne, Jigme Ugyen, and Sonam Yangden.

Dasho is a Bhutanese honorific that is bestowed upon individuals, along with a red scarf kabney, by the Druk Gyalpo. In common practice, however, many senior government officials and social elites are incorrectly addressed as Dasho without officially receiving the title and the red scarf kabney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phuntsho Choden</span> Queen consort of Bhutan

Ashi Phuntsho Choden was the queen consort of Bhutan, as the wife of King Jigme Wangchuck.

Princess AshiEuphelma Choden Wangchuck is a princess of Bhutan. She is the daughter of the fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and his wife, Queen Mother Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck. She is half-sister of the fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsundue Pema Lhamo</span> Queen consort of Bhutan

Ashi Tsundue Pema Lhamo (1886–1922) was the first queen consort of Bhutan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pema Dechen</span> Bhutanese queen

Ashi Pema Dechen (1918–1991) was the queen consort of Bhutan.

References

  1. 1 2 "Octogenarian grandmother of king to visit different holy places in state". Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  2. "Yeewongmagazine". Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  3. "Her Majesty Ashi Phuntsho Choden Wangchuck: Patron Queen of Bhutan: A Legacy of Devotion and Leadership". Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  4. "South Asian Monitor". Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2017-05-31.

Notes

  1. Women in Bhutan retain their names upon marriage.
Kesang Choden (queen)
Born: 21 May 1930
Bhutanese royalty
Preceded by Queen consort of Bhutan
1952–1972
Succeeded by
Preceded by Queen Mother of Bhutan
1972–2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Queen Grandmother of Bhutan
2006–present
Incumbent