Crowns of the Kingdom of Bhutan

[Kasumi]

Raven Crown
The first king of the new Wangchuk dynasty, Ugyen Wangchuk (1862-1926), was a charismatic figure who came to power against a turbulent background of incessant and complex feuding.
He adopted as the unique symbol of his authority a crown surmounted by the head of a raven. The bird represents a form of Mahakala, Bhutan's guardian deity.
The prototype of the founding monarch's Raven Crown had first been devised as a battle helmet for his father, Jigme Namgyel (1825-81).

Raven Crown of the First Dragon-King of Bhutan
Fourth Dragon-King wearing the Raven Crown
Fifth Dragon-King's coronation with the Raven Crown

Royal wedding in October 2011 (L-R):
#1 - Queen Ashi Jetsun's silk embroidered wedding crown;
#2 - Queen Ashi Jetsun's gold and jade tiara;
#3 - King Jigme Khesar's Raven Crown

HM Queen AshiPhuntsho Chhoedon (1911-2003) with her crown. Queen Jetsun's maternal grandfather was a half-brother of this Queen.

HRH Princess Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuk with her silk embroidered wedding crown, November 2008.

Queen Ashi Jetsun's engagement & wedding rings, and golden watch
During royal wedding on October 13th, 2011.

[PrincessApple]

Originally Posted by Kasumi

Queen Ashi Jetsun's engagement & wedding rings, and golden watch
During royal wedding on October 13th, 2011.

Thank you for posting this; I've been wanting to see her rings. It appears Jetsun wears a solitaire engagement ring and a wedding band of small diamonds. Is it just the photo or my eyes, or is the engagement ring yellow gold and the wedding ring white gold?

[Kasumi]

Originally Posted by PrincessApple

...Is it just the photo or my eyes, or is the engagement ring yellow gold and the wedding ring white gold?

You are right, PrincessApple,
The engagement ring is of yellow gold and the wedding one - of white.

[Kasumi]

From the article by Rinzin Wangchuk
The brocade-embroidered crown HM Jetsun Pema Wangchuck donned at the wedding ceremony in Punakha depicts two Ja Tsherings (phoenix) or the mythical longevity birds. The male and female birds symbolise the blissful relationship between the King and the Queen.

“It’s also a symbol of inseparability in method and wisdom,” Dasho Sangay Wangchug of the Privy Council, explained. The crown also has a khorlo or the wheel of dharma between the male and the female bird.
The wheel signifies the power that the King and the Queen is bestowed with to rule in a way that launches the country into a new era of continued peace and prosperity.

The lotus beneath the khorlo is for purity of love and devotion for both the King and the Queen.
Lhadrip (scroll painter) Lopon Ugyen, who designed the crown and had it embroidered in Hong Kong, said the frame of the crown was carved in such a way that they accommodated all the strokes of different colours (bjadri).

The embroidery of the tshebum on the crown’s rear is also a symbol Amitayu or the Buddha of long life.
The overall dark blue borders is in keeping with the colour of the sky that is representative of the power she wields which is limitless like the open sky.


**Pic**

[Kasumi]

The 4th and the 5th Kings' Raven Crowns