KING RAMA IX
In June 2006, celebrations for the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne happened.
|
Millions of Thai around the country have worn yellow shirts bearing the royal insignia
and wristbands for a week
to honor the king with the color associated with Mondays, the weekday he was born in 1927.
|
|
| Yellow shirt |
|---|
Bangkok was bursting with yellow colour in celebrations for the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne. Yellow is the colour of Monday, the King's birthday.
|
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has decorated Ratchadamnoen Avenue with majestic
arches and beautiful flowers. Street decorations were up everywhere, turning the main streets
of Bangkok into a glittering spectacle.
|
| Celebratory arch |
|---|
|
As a tribute to the King, 31 celebratory arches adorned Ratchadamnoen Avenue, all displaying
exquisite craftsmanship.
|
|
| Celebratory arch |
|---|
|
In all Thai cities, similar celebratory arches adorned main streets, all displaying
beautiful craftsmanship and royal symbols.
|
| Celebratory arch |
|---|
A week of festivities was held for the 78-year-old king, the world's longest reigning monarch, including ancient Buddhist rituals and nightly fireworks.
|
Yellow is the colour Thai people traditionally associate with Monday, the day of the week when the King
was born in 1927, when Thailand was still the kingdom of Siam. By the time he took the throne
in 1946, Thailand was no longer an absolute monarchy and the king had few legal powers.
|
|
| Yellow fever |
|---|
June 9 was declared as a national holiday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne. June 12-13 were also declared public holidays in the Bangkok area. The government hoped to clear Bangkok's normally traffic-choked and polluted streets by declaring supplementary national holiday during the Royal celebrations.
|
Thai people join the royal celebrations to express their loyalty to the King.
One million people turned out to hear him give only the third public address of his reign,
and around the country people continue to wear yellow shirts and wristbands in his honour.
|
| Royal celebration |
|---|
Thai people scramble to wear royal colour. It is a yellow shirt fever across the nation. The price of the shirts has catapulted to 500-600 baht at many stores and stalls during this celebration month.
|
Joyful well-wishers in yellow shirts wave their hands and flags at the
Royal Plaza, where they gathered to catch a glimpse of His Majesty.
|
|
| Yellow fever |
|---|
The yellow T-shirt rush was partly the result of mass orders after the government announced civil servants must wear the shirts to work during the celebration period, which ends on June 15. They are also required to wear them every Monday following the celebration, until the end of the year.
|
Hoisting yellow flags bearing the royal insignia, people from all walks of life sent up
a deafening roar when the King appeared on the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.
|
| Yellow fever |
|---|
His Majesty the King promoted 69 monks to higher priests' ranks in a series of ceremonies celebrating the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne.
|
The King appears on the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall during the royal ceremony.
Her daughter the Princess is behind him.
|
|
| The King |
|---|
About 25 000 prisoners nationwide have been released under a royal pardon to mark the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne.
|
His Majesty the King, with Her Majesty the Queen by his side, waves to well-wishers from
the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall after giving a speech marking the 60th
anniversary of his accession to the throne.
|
| The King and the Queen |
|---|
Thai police was assigned to escort royal visitors from 25 countries during their visit. The world's crowned heads converged upon Thailand for celebrations marking the king's 60th year on the throne.
|
His Majesty The King treated his guests to some of his country's most spectacular traditions.
This included a rarely seen parade of 52 royal barges down the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok,
as well as a gala dinner inside the gilded halls of his Grand Palace. The monarch served his guests
seafood and vegetables produced by projects he sponsors to help ease rural poverty.
|
|
| The King |
|---|
Royalty from the following nations attended the celebrations: Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Denmark, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga and the United Arab Emirates.
|
A dinner was the first event held in a new throne hall in the grounds of the Grand Palace for
the Royal visitors. The King, who has turned one of his palaces into an agricultural laboratory,
reportedly opposed the new building and had ordered a halt to construction during the 1997 financial crisis.
But the government wanted a space large enough for state dinners, and financed the throne hall through
fees paid by tourists visiting the temples.
|
| Royal visitors |
|---|
The intricately ornamented barges are kept in a museum, but on days of utmost national importance, the royal naval oarsmen re-enact an ancient and glittering procession down the river, past Bangkok's most revered temples and palaces. The royal barge parade held in June 2006 was be the biggest one ever, to mark the 60th accession to the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej as the world's longest-reigning monarch.
|
It took 2082 rowers from the Royal Thai Navy to sail the 52 barges including a century-old royal barge
called "Golden Swan". The barges take about two hours to travel their route of 4.2 kilometers,
ending at the Temple of Dawn.
|
|
| Royal Barge |
|---|
The procession comprised 52 barges including the four Royal Barges, i.e. Subanahongsa, Anantanagaraj, Anekajatbhujonga, and Narayana Song Suban, manned by 2082 Royal Thai Navy crew. The event was the first occasion in which the King and other members of the Royal family view the royal barge procession, rather than travel in the procession along the river.
|
Colourful fireworks illuminated the night sky over Sanam Luang where hundreds of thousands
of people gathered and lit candles to mark the King's Diamond Jubilee.
|
| Fireworks |
|---|
The commemorative banknotes released for sale to mark the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne have all been snapped up by the public. It took just a few hours to sell the 9 999 999 60-baht notes put up for sale.
The last pictures are Courtesy of the Royal Household Bureau.
Click to see more pictures |
|
|
| Home > Society > King Rama IX |
| Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 |
|