Cremation Ceremony of King Bhumibol Adulyadej; 26 October 2017


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Thank you melina premiere and Osipi for the kind words and thank you everyone here, especially eya, for keeping the thread updated.

Today, Office of the Prime Minister's disclosed that HRH Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn will join the royal procession rehearsal on October 21:
Here is more video footage of last saturday's rehearsal:

Also last sunday seen a rehearsal of the 6th royal procession that will transport HM the late king's cremains to be kept at royal monasteries (Wat Ratchabophit and Wat Bowonniwet Vihara). Thai media reported that HRH Princess Sirivannavari will also join this procession's rehearsal on October 22.

 
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President Halimah Yacob of Singapore will join the ceremony next week:

What surprises me the most is the fact that Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't send any invitations to any foreign countries at all but foreign head of states or delegates have to voluntarily ask to join the ceremony themselves, that's weird.
 
That, I think, is true respect. :D
 
^^ You're right, but it just looks weird to me for a ceremony of this scale by not inviting any foreign guests from countries where they have diplomatic relations with Thailand. I'm not sure about the coronation ceremony of King Maha Vajiralongkorn neither, whether the government would invite any foreign guests or not. My guest is that they wouldn't.

Anyway, a few hour ago, installation ceremony of the royal nine-tiered umbrella (Nopphapadon Maha Sawetta Chat) atop the royal crematorium was presided over by HM the King, accompanied by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana. This marks the completion of the royal crematorium complex after 10 months of construction:

Information regarding the royal cremation ceremony which spans over five days can be found here: https://kingrama9.bangkokpost.com/
 
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Sorry if this has already been asked, but what happens to the royal crematorium after the ceremonies?
 
Is the Prince of Wales attending next week..? I suspect he'd find it fascinating [given his interest in other Faiths]. He will also have met his late Majesty in the past.
 
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Actually, I just did some snooping around and there's no mention of any of the BRF's plans to attend made public yet. My thoughts were along the same lines as yours in that Prince Charles would be the one most likely to attend.
 
King Bhumibol Adulyadej will be honoured in Stockholm on the day of the cremation ceremony. As a knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim it is tradition that a Seraphim ringing takes place in Riddarholmskyrkan on the day of the burial.

At 11.55 the Seraphim arms of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (picture in the link) will be taken from the Royal Palace of Stockholm with military honours to Riddarholmskyrkan, where the arms will be placed in the choir for the ringing. From 12.00 an hour of ringing will take place to honour the late King.

The church will open to the public during the event. It will also be possible to express condolences in books that will be placed in the church after the ringing.

Serafimerringning för Konung Bhumibol Adulyadej - Sveriges Kungahus
 
According to Khaosod, royal family from 14 countries will attend the cremation ceremony on October 26th:

- King Letsie III and Queen of Lesotho
- King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen of Bhutan
- King Tupou VI and Queen of Tonga
- Queen Silvia of Sweden
- Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
- Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- Queen Sofia of Spain
- Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
- Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
- Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- Nazrin Shah of Perak, Deputy King of Malaysia
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York
- Fumihito, Prince Akishino of Japan and his wife
- Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein
 
Its a lovely turn out, especially since they have to be asked to be invited, not simply accepting invitations. I do wish Charles and Camilla would attend, I think the funeral of a monarch should call for a more senior royal then Andie. Kind of surprised that Andrew and not one or both Wessex is going. But I guess the Japanese crown couple isn't going either, so not simply the Brits.
 
Its a lovely turn out, especially since they have to be asked to be invited, not simply accepting invitations. I do wish Charles and Camilla would attend, I think the funeral of a monarch should call for a more senior royal then Andie. Kind of surprised that Andrew and not one or both Wessex is going. But I guess the Japanese crown couple isn't going either, so not simply the Brits.

I think It's just a scheduling issue that prevents Charles from attending. Or at least that's what i hope.

The Duke of York represented his Mother at the funeral of Fürst Rainier III of Monaco too who was the 2:nd longest reigning monarch (after Bhumibol) when he died. He also represented at King Bhumibol's Diamond Jubilee in 2006 so he has met the late King before.
 
Its a lovely turn out, especially since they have to be asked to be invited, not simply accepting invitations. I do wish Charles and Camilla would attend, I think the funeral of a monarch should call for a more senior royal then Andie. Kind of surprised that Andrew and not one or both Wessex is going. But I guess the Japanese crown couple isn't going either, so not simply the Brits.
I might be wrong but wasn't Crown Prince Naruhito in Thailand and paid his respect right after the King passed away?
 
Nope, Crown Prince Naruhito didn't visit Thailand to pay respect to the late King. It was the Emperor and Empress of Japan who made a "personal" visit to Thailand last March (they decided to made a short stopover in Bangkok right after the state visit to Vieatnam). Their Imperial Majesties also had an audience with King Vajiralongkorn.
Here is a list of non-royal dignitaries to attend the ceremony as reported by Thai media:
Khaosod English: Here Are The Foreign Dignitaries Coming From 32 Nations

- Htin Kyaw, President of Myanmar and his spouse
- Bounnhang Vorachith, President of Laos
- Halimah Yacob, President of Singapore and her spouse
- Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of Australia and his spouse
- Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada
- Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice President of Vietnam
- Joseph Deiss, Former President of Switzerland
- Christian Wulff, Former President of Germany
- Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
- Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, Prime Minister of Swaziland
- Jean-Marc Ayrault, Former Prime Minister of France and his spouse
- Park Ju-seon, Vice Speaker of National Assembly of South Korea
- James Mattis, Defense Secretary of the United States
- Alan Peter Cayetano, Foreign Secretary of the Philippines
- Tilak Marapana, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka
- Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Foreign Minister of Pakistan and his spouse
- Mobashar Jawed Akbar, State Minister for External Affairs of India
- Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, Vatican Apostolic Nunciature to India and Nepal
Royal processions and schedule for royal cremation ceremony:

Thai PBS has set live-streaming programs for the ceremony in advance on their Youtube Channel.
 
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According to Khaosod, royal family from 14 countries will attend the cremation ceremony on October 26th:

- King Letsie III and Queen of Lesotho
- King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen of Bhutan
- King Tupou VI and Queen of Tonga
- Queen Silvia of Sweden
- Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
- Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- Queen Sofia of Spain
- Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
- Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
- Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- Nazrin Shah of Perak, Deputy King of Malaysia
- Prince Andrew, Duke of York
- Fumihito, Prince Akishino of Japan and his wife
- Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein

thank you for the list, here is the link to the article
Here Are the Foreign Dignitaries Coming From 32 Nations
For Guillaume, it is now on the Luxembourg Royal calendar too

and thank you all for the information on this event. It is great learning about it :flowers:
 
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Thanks, I was totally wrong then :)

Well, you're not the only one expecting the Crown Prince Couple of Japan to attend the ceremony. Looking at the list alone, i find an implication that many countries are reluctant to send their head of state to the ceremony. Probably because they are not formally invited or maybe there is some political limitations that prevented them to attend. However, i couldn't feel more grateful and respectful for those royals and dignitaries who's attending, they are truly Thailand's friends.

Royal Crematorium is 100% completed, ready for the ceremony:
 
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I think It's just a scheduling issue that prevents Charles from attending. Or at least that's what i hope.

The Duke of York represented his Mother at the funeral of Fürst Rainier III of Monaco too who was the 2:nd longest reigning monarch (after Bhumibol) when he died. He also represented at King Bhumibol's Diamond Jubilee in 2006 so he has met the late King before.

Something like Rainier's funeral I could see it being a matter of scheduling. As the funeral would have been what a week after he died at most. But the king died over a year ago. Plenty of time for scheduling if Charles would have wished to attend. Charles has met the king as well. Yes, Andrew has been to Thailand for the queen. But funerals are customarily attended by heirs, as seen by the majority of the list. But it would explain why Andrew and not Edward.
 
Its seem that no one from Monaco will be attending?
 
Its not the dignitaries in attendance that stands out for me nor is it the pomp and the circumstance and the splendor of the cremation ceremony itself that stands out for me but rather the entire process of what happens when a King of Thailand dies.

We live in a world where someone dies, there is a funeral and then life goes on. To actively witness how Thailand does it over a year's period of time with all the merit making ceremonies, the specific building of a glorious building specifically for the cremation and even the measured, slow paced steps of those in the funereal procession shows to me a deep respect and remembrance of a person that has passed on from our world into the next. It puts a huge emphasis on the spiritual aspect of a person and a deep belief that those that remain can and do actively assist a soul's passage into the afterlife and its continuation.

It really makes me wish that more of our world would take the time and the energies to be more focused on the spiritual aspects of themselves. I will be watching and following the cremation ceremony as much as I possibly can and hopefully with my thoughts centered on the late King Bhumibol, although I've never met him nor know too much about him as a man, my thoughts will mesh with those of Thailand and gently send this soul home.
 
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