Thailand celebrates king's 60 years on throne

By Anusak Konglang

Sun Jun 4, 1:36 AM ET



BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, will mark his 60th anniversary on the throne with days of rituals and feasts -- and royalty from around the world.


The festivities have attracted some of the world's highest-profile royals, including Emperor Akihito of Japan, Prince Albert II of Monaco, King Abdullah II of Jordan, as well as leaders of several Gulf states.

But while some of his fellow rulers have suffered scorn and rough treatment in the press, the 78-year-old monarch is revered with intense devotion here -- a reverence accompanied by a ban on books considered critical of him.

His picture hangs in every taxi, office and shop, and his anniversary will be colored in hues both patriotic and religious, with a two-day holiday in Bangkok to mark the occasion.

"Every time in the past 60 years when our country faces a crisis, he comes out to solve the problem for his people," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday. "Thais are very lucky to have the king."

The activities begin Thursday, with three days of religious observances by the royal family, which will be closed to the public but televised live.

On Friday he will make a rare public appearance, standing on the palace balcony to greet the tens of thousands of his subjects expected to crowd onto the Royal Plaza.

Monday and Tuesday have been declared public holidays, largely in hopes of minimizing Bangkok's notorious traffic when royals from Belgium to Bhutan will make their way to the Thai capital.

The king will escort his visitors to the riverside headquarters of the Thai navy, where they will watch a procession of more than 50 royal barges, which have paraded down the Chao Praya River only 14 times during his reign.

On Tuesday evening, the king will host a royal banquet with his guests. Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is expected to deliver a toast on behalf the guests, many of whom will leave Thailand the following day.

The banquet hosts monarchs from 13 nations -- Brunei, Cambodia, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Qatar, Swaziland and Sweden.

Other royalty will come from Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Bhutan, Denmark, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Spain, Tonga and the United Arab Emirates.

The anniversary celebrations have brought a lull to a bout of political turmoil in Thailand that has seen the prime minister step aside -- only to take back his duties -- in recent weeks.

As the younger brother in his family, few people during his childhood expected Bhumibol would take the throne. But when he was only 18, his brother died mysteriously on June 9, 1946, and he was named king the same day.

After his ascension to the throne, he went to Switzerland to study and was not formally crowned until four years later in May 1950, when he received the official royal name Rama the Ninth. His full name means "Strength of the Land -- Incomparable Power".

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