The people of Thailand will bid final good bye to their beloved monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, when the country holds the funeral of the late king on Thursday.
His Majesty who had been ailing for many years passed away peacefully on October 13 last year at the age of 88 and in the 70th year of his reign.
His Majesty is deeply loved and revered by his subjects and his passing away has been described as one of the greatest losses for Thai people.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the world’s longest reigning monarch. He was a stabilizing and unifying force in a country where political turmoil is not uncommon. The country has seen a number of military coups, 17 constitutions and even more prime ministers.
Born on 5th December 1927 in Massachusetts in the United States of America, he was the third and youngest child of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla and his consort, Mother Sangwan Mahidol.
The late king received his education in Switzerland and it was while in Europe that he met his wife, then Lady Sirikit. The royal couple went on to have four children.
In the 1930’s, the status of monarchy was on the decline in Thailand. It was King Bhumibol who rebuilt the monarchy’s profile through a series of tours in the provinces, and through numerous royal projects that established his lifelong concern with agricultural development.
Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej was installed as the Royal Brother when his elder brother ascended the throne as King Rama VIII in 1935. Subsequently, after the demise of King Ananda Mahidol in 1946, the government invited Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was then 18-year- old, to ascend the throne as the ninth monarch of the Royal House of Chakri.
Four years later, on May 5, 1950, he assumed his kingship.
In his younger days, King Bhumibol enjoyed a wide variety of pursuits, including photography, playing and composing songs for the saxophone, painting and writing. He even received a patent for an artificial rain-making technique that he developed.
The king suffered from an increasingly frail health in the years before his demise. He had spent much of his time in hospital after being admitted for a lung infection in September 2009 until his death last year.
