Thailand’s newly-crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn was carried by soldiers on a gilded palanquin through the streets of Bangkok on Sunday, in front of crowds who craned to witness the historic event. King Maha Vajiralongkorn has now officially succeeded his late father Rama IX as King of Thailand. "Long live the king!" shouted well-wishers who lined roads for hours under the blazing sun and well into the night, hoping for a glimpse of the constitutional monarch who is revered in Thai culture as a living deity.
King Vajiralongkorn, carried through the streets by 16 men bearing his gilded palanquin, visited three royal temples, starting with Bovoranives, where he spent 15 days ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1978. The seven-km procession brings the public into close proximity with the monarch for the first time, two years after he ascended the throne in an increasingly assertive reign.
King Vajiralongkorn, carried through the streets by 16 men bearing his gilded palanquin, visited three royal temples, starting with Bovoranives, where he spent 15 days ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1978. The seven-km procession brings the public into close proximity with the monarch for the first time, two years after he ascended the throne in an increasingly assertive reign.
