On October 13, the King of Thailand died at the age of 88 after a long illness. Bhumibol Adulyadej, according to a statement circulated by the bureau of the royal court.

On October 10, the press service of the king reported a sharp deterioration in his health and hospitalization in a hospital in Bangkok. Bhumibol Adulyadej was reported to be on a ventilator.

The people of Thailand mourn for the king. Bhumibol Adulyadej ruled the country for 70 years

Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ascended the throne in June 1946, ruled longer than any living monarch in the world and longer than any of his predecessors. During his reign, according to TASS, more than 20 prime ministers have changed in Thailand, 18 constitutions have been adopted and 10 coups d'état took place.

Bhumibol Adulyadej enjoyed great prestige in Thailand. In particular, he used his influence to resolve political crises in the country.

Bhumibol Adulyadej succeeds his only son, 64-year-old Maha Vachiralongkorn.

What happens in Bangkok after the death of the king of Thailand

On October 13, it was announced that King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand had died at the age of 88. Adulyadej came to the throne in June 1946 - he ruled longer than all living monarchs in the world and longer than all his predecessors. Ilya the Dyer, who is in Bangkok these days, tells what happens in the Thai capital immediately after the king's death.

At 11 pm, the streets are washed around Sirirai Hospital in Bangkok. Dozens of participants are involved in the process: some are watering the roadway with hoses, others are pulling hoses, others are throwing water over the asphalt with brooms. The washers are guarded by the military, police, firefighters and, it seems, volunteers - this, however, does not prevent hundreds of local residents, tourists and other witnesses of the death of the monarch, who ruled the longest among his contemporaries, to walk along the flooded streets.

The King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej (to put it simply, Rama the Ninth) died here a few hours ago - and if you can ever use the hackneyed expression “an era is gone”, then there is no better reason in the near future: the king has ruled since 1946, that is, the overwhelming most Thais did not find other rulers.

The Thai monarchy - constitutional, but with the constitution itself in a country of complexity - during the reign of Rama the Ninth, the basic law changed 16 times, including this year. The Thai monarch, however, is really limited in his actions: the real power is in the hands of the government and the army that regularly overthrows it - there were only ten successful military coups under the deceased king (two of them were organized by the cabinet itself). The monarch approved the coups, his power remained inviolable; he is revered in the country as a demigod.

The reputation of the king is protected by a special law that prohibits any criticism of the royal family. The law is applied cruelly: just a year ago, the author of six Facebook posts insulting the king was jailed for 30 years - for each entry they were given ten years, but the confession of guilt reduced the term by half. There are many such cases - terms for likes on Facebook, terms for SMS, a term for talking about slavery under previous kings (the law applies to all Thai monarchs) - in general, Thais, in principle, prefer not to discuss the royal family.

An hour after his death, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha spoke: he called on the people of Thailand to wear mourning clothes for a year, mourning was declared for the same period. The Bangkok Post has repainted its website in black and white.

A woman sits among police officers near the Sirirai hospital. October 14, 2016

It seems that what is happening around the hospital does not correspond to the scale of the event: you expect a sobbing crowd of many thousands and roads blocked by the army, but there is neither one nor the other. The streets are formally closed, but this does not prevent scooters, tuk-tuks, or taxis from driving around them. Citizens are not allowed on the sidewalks of large streets - but you can walk along small ones. However, as it turns out later, they are not allowed in only because of the washing of the streets - the entrance to the hospital is open.

Those who are waiting for tomorrow's ceremony of transferring the body to the palace are sleeping in the courtyard. Each sleeper has a portrait of the king. Those who do not sleep (there are several hundred of them here) pray, take pictures - or both pray and take pictures. With phones, everyone is here: passers-by, and mourners, and the police, and hospital staff.

Mourning is mixed with general curiosity. Almost no one cries, they smile more - but those who cry are popular with journalists. One of the organizers of the mass prayer at the entrance to the hospital explains that this day is not for weeping, but to remember all the best about the king. Those who wish are handed out the texts of prayers: the words are written in the opposite direction - so, they say, the text is better imprinted in the head.

The Prime Minister of Thailand ended his speech with the phrase "The King is dead, long live the King": the throne goes to the son of Rama the Ninth - Maha Vajiralongkorn. The heir took time to think, they did not last long - after a couple of hours he agreed.

There are some problems with the new king: his behavior can hardly be called divine. Playboy, spender and generally a man of dubious reputation; he is known, for example, for appointing his poodle Fu-Fu as Thai Air Marshal, according to US intelligence leaked by WikiLeaks. The poodle died in 2015 and Buddhist mourning ceremonies lasted four days. By the way, the ban on insulting the royal family also applies to dogs - a worker who insulted the mongrel Rama the Ninth on social networks, according to December 2015, was threatened with 37 years in prison.

According to The Guardian, despite the ban on discussing and even more so condemning the royal family, the former prince is not loved in the country (unlike his sister) - the consequences of the death of the old king can be dangerous: to the junta that seized power two years ago, a monarch will be added who has never shown any interest in governing the country. His views on politics are unknown and his actions are unpredictable.

What happens in the hospital, government, parliament and the royal palace does not affect the city in any way. Rare patrols have appeared in some places, but Bangkok lives as it used to: night markets work, tourists walk, street food is sold right on the washing streets - they will carry the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej to the palace tomorrow; the road to heaven must be clear.

The king of the country died more than a year ago, but according to tradition, his funeral took place many months after the death of the royal person. The farewell ceremony lasted 5 days and ended with the cremation of the remains.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand, who passed away on October 13, 2016, was buried a year later. This tradition of delayed funerals is associated with the lengthy preparation that precedes the ceremony and the observance of mourning. All this time, the body of the embalmed monk was in the throne room of the Dusit Maha Prasat Palace.

During this year, more than 5 million people came to say goodbye to their beloved king. Many came from remote villages. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was loved by the Thais not only as a monarch, to whom the people of Thailand have a very special attitude, but also for personal qualities. He loved books, was merciful, and it was believed that it was he who led the country to economic recovery. Despite a series of terrorist attacks and a turbulent past few years before his death with a coup d'état in 2014, the monarch remained the most beloved ruler in the history of the country. Taking the throne in 1946, he ruled until his death.

During the year of mourning, during which many employees on their own initiative wore only white clothes (white is the color of mourning), a 50-meter burial complex was built. Hundreds of Thai masters took part in its creation. This is a large area, in which, in addition to the burial place, there are 4 ponds, a reservoir, a rice field, and a windmill.

Funeral arrangements began on October 25, 2017. On the morning of October 26, the sarcophagus with the remains of the king was loaded onto a once purpose-built chariot for the funeral of monarchs. It is decorated with naga heads. These are snake-like mythical creatures that hold the drink of immortality.

The 200-year-old Great Victory chariot moves with the help of 222 servicemen. Because of the chariot, the other participants in the ceremony were forced to learn a special ceremonial step.

Thousands of Thais came to say goodbye to the King. 2406 people take part in the procession. A relatively short distance to Sanam Luang Square (890 m) they pass in 2 hours.

Inside the fenced historical center of Bangkok, where the funeral of the king took place, 157 thousand people could be. All this time they spent the funeral here. Only invited guests (about 7.5 thousand people) and participants in the ceremony were allowed outside the inner perimeter of the royal crematorium.

Many of those who came to see the King on his last journey became ill. During the 5 days of the funeral ceremony in Bangkok, medical teams were on duty around the clock. Volunteers handed out free food and water.

The remains of the deceased are placed on a platform inside the burial complex, in the center of which there is an elevation symbolizing Mount Meru. After death, according to the beliefs of the Thais, the souls of royal persons go to her after physical death. As a sign of respect, funeral flowers are laid on the platform.

At the cremation ceremony itself, only members of the royal family are present. The beginning of the moment of cremation in the Main Square was recognized by the smoke that began to rise above the main tower of the crematorium.

Copies of the crematorium have been installed throughout the country. After the cremation fire was lit in Bangkok, ceremonial fires were also lit in other parts of the province. The ashes of burnt sandalwood were then scattered in the wind over the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea, small rivers and lakes.

At the end of the cremation ceremony, the third day of the funeral is devoted to collecting the ashes of the late king. All collected ashes are divided into 6 ritual urns, which will be sent to Buddhist temples.

On the 4th day, the Buddhist ritual of prayer for the soul takes place in the throne room of Dusit Maha Prasat in the large royal palace. The funeral ceremony ends with the donation of food to the Buddhist monks, after which one urn with the ashes is placed in the Chakri tomb located on the territory of the Grand Royal Palace, the others go to the temples of Wat Ratchabophit and Wat Bovonniwet.

BANGKOK, 13 October. /Corr. TASS Alexey Skovoronsky/. Millions of people in Thailand on Friday mourn and honor the memory of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) on the first anniversary of his death. This day in the kingdom is declared non-working.

From early morning in Bangkok, the sounds of Buddhist prayers can be heard from almost every large residential building. The ritual ends with alms for the monks - this is one of the local traditions to honor the memory of the deceased. A donation, as a rule, consists of items useful in everyday life, necessary, including in the monastery.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, together with his wife and members of the government, held a similar ceremony in the early morning at Government House. According to the press service of the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Chan-o-cha distributed alms to 89 Buddhist monks. This number is not accidental, since Rama IX passed away precisely at the 89th year of his life.

On the eve of the walls of the Grand Royal Palace in Bangkok, a huge portrait of the monarch was erected so that everyone could bow to the king, expressing their respect and sorrow. Access to the coffin urn of Rama IX for subjects was closed on October 5th. According to the bureau of the royal court, 12.7 million people bowed to the remains of the ruler in 337 days.

At the suggestion of the government, everywhere in Thailand on October 13 at 15:52 local time (11:52 Moscow time) - it was at this hour that the monarch passed away a year ago - a minute of silence lasting 89 seconds will be announced. In the evening, King Rama X, son of Bhumibol Adulyadej, will conduct a commemorative ceremony at the palace in Bangkok.

Music marathon

Ivan Sharapov, a graduate of the Moscow State Pyotr Tchaikovsky Conservatory, also decided to make his contribution to the series of mourning events. He will hold a nine-hour music marathon on the piano on Friday in the lobby of one of the exhibition centers in Bangkok.

“The whole program is conditionally divided into nine parts,” Ivan Sharapov told a TASS correspondent before the start of the performance. “At the beginning of each hour, a composition written by His Majesty sounds, then Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, early music, a slow popular melody and a Russian folk song” .

Sharapov said that he had long wanted to combine the masterpieces of Russian classics and the music of Thailand into one concert. "The songs written by King Rama IX are very melodic and dearly loved by the Thai people. The Russian soul is, of course, the music of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov," the musician says.

Farewell and cremation

The country declared mourning, which will end on October 30 this year, and the body of the monarch was taken to the Royal Grand Palace and placed in a sitting position in a special funerary urn, which is now in the throne room of Dusit Maha Prasat. The cremation is scheduled for October 26 and will take place in the capital's Sanam Luang Square, where a funeral platform more than 50 meters high has already been built for this.

Only about 7.5 thousand citizens who have received special permission will be able to watch the ceremony from the square. However, the areas adjacent to the place of farewell are expected to fill up to 250 thousand people.

Not everyone knows that such a beloved holiday destination as Thailand is actually a kingdom. And it has been ruled by the royal dynasty for many years. Moreover, before 1932, the kings of Thailand had unlimited power and powers. But after the coup d'état, the absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional monarchy.

Since 1946, Bhumibol Adulyadej has ruled the country for many years. By the way, the term of his reign is the longest among all the current rulers in the world. Also interesting is the fact that the mother of the king was from the common people. The Thai people loved their king so much that he was revered as a semi-divine person . After all, it was he who managed to unite the country after a difficult historical past and, despite political conflicts, kept a stable position in it.

Since 2014, a military government has been in power in Thailand, but the king was able to maintain his power after the coup and established good relations with them. Bhumibol Adulyadej created for himself the role of supreme arbiter sincerely respected by the majority of Thais.

But on October 13, 2016, the whole world was shocked by the news that the king of Thailand had died. It could not be called a surprise, since everyone knew that Bhumibol Adulyadej was ill. He spent the last few years in hospitals a lot of time. King of Thailand dies at 89 in the hospital for kidney failure.

The death of the king of Thailand became such a great grief for the people that due to mourning in the country, black clothes disappeared from the shelves. In some stores, black items disappeared from sale, while other stores sold them at prices higher than before. Free black-dye shops opened in major cities, and on October 17, the government announced that state-owned banks were allocating money to give some 8 million poor people in Thailand free black shirts. The program was evaluated in 400 million baht.

Thousands of Thais came to say goodbye to the king, and 11 elephants took part in the procession dedicated to the memory of the deceased king , who walked through the city streets to the doors leading to the royal residence, where they bowed to the deceased monarch.

Today the body of the king is in. Every day there is a huge line of many thousands of people who want to say a farewell word to the monarch. Bhumibol Adulyadej will be cremated, most likely in the fall of 2017.

New heir to the throne

Before all the due farewell ceremonies were completed, a completely logical question arose in the discussions of the world society: who became the king of Thailand?

Newly elected ruler - the direct heir of Bhumibol Adulyadej, son of the King of Thailand , 64 years old Maha Vajiralongkon , who had not previously taken an active part in the politics and life of his country, and in general he lived outside of Thailand for a long time. The full name of the proclaimed monarch is Maha Vajiralongkon Bodintaratepeyawarangkun.

He is also known as Rama X, according to the traditional reckoning of the current ruling dynasty. Thus, he became the 10th monarch in the 234 year old Chakri dynasty .

It was originally planned that the new king of Thailand would sit on the throne immediately after the death of his father. However, the anointing ceremony was subsequently postponed for 50 days to allow enough time for mourning for the deceased monarch.

The Thai Parliament has begun the procedure for the accession to the throne of the son of the monarch Maha Vajiralongkorn. On December 1, 2016, Maha Vajiralongkon ascended the throne of the ruler. During a ceremony that was broadcast live on TV, he accepted the proposal of Parliament and officially became the new monarch. The coronation will take place a year later, after the mourning for the deceased predecessor ends.

The date of birth of the new king is July 28, 1952. In 1972, he received the official royal title, which sounded like « HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, Heir Apparent «.

The monarch received his education first in, and then in Australia and Great Britain. Behind the heir is the Royal Military College of Canberra, where he trained as a military pilot. Also, he is qualified "helicopter pilot".

At one time he took part in various military operations near the border of Cambodia.

Despite high ranks and excellent education, Maha Vajiralongkorn does not enjoy a very good reputation outside of Thailand. Repeatedly he arranged drunken scandals abroad. And during a recent visit to Munich, he got off the plane half-naked and with a poodle in his arms, which shocked the protocol service.

Personal life of Maha Vajiralongkon

Mahi's personal life is also shrouded in scandals and intrigues. Total he has three officially concluded marriages and seven children behind him .

The first marriage of the future monarch was concluded in 1977. His wife was Princess Mom Luang Soamsawali Kitiyakara, whose aunt is Queen Sirikit. In 1978, his first daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, was born.

Already in 1980, the marriage collapsed. But it was legally broken only in 1990. Therefore, for some time, the royal heir was in an unofficial marriage with actress Yuvadhida Polpraset. She became the mother of four sons and one daughter of the heir to the throne. She, like all her children, was honored "junior" princess title. In 1994, they officially concluded their union. But already in 1996, it ended in a scandalous breakup, which was due to the fact that Mach suspected his wife of treason. After that, the woman gathered all five children and left with them for Great Britain, and some time later - for the United States of America. Being emigrants there, they all lost their royal titles.

A little later, Queen Sirikit petitioned Queen Elizabeth. After that, the daughter from the second marriage returned to her father. Upon arrival in Thailand, the girl was awarded the title of princess. Today she is a very famous fashion designer in Thailand. In addition, Mahi's daughter often performs some functions associated with the royal family.

The heir concluded his third marriage in 2001 with an ordinary employee from the people. For 4 years this union was diligently hidden, but in 2005 the third wife of the future monarch became a princess Mom Srirasmi Mahidol , after the birth of the heir Dipangkorn Rasmichoti,

In the winter of 2014, the woman renounced this title. The high-profile divorce proceedings of Vajiralongkorn and Srirasmi took place. All native princesses lost their titles because it turned out that many of them were involved in major scandals and corruption.

To date, the new king of Thailand is not officially married. Of his seven children, only three people have the title - princess bajrakitiyabha , Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana , and Prince Dipangkorn Rasmichoti .

Whether the new king will be able to surpass the glory of his predecessor and win the same love and respect of his people, time will tell. In the meantime, the world society is only looking at a new face in the list of world rulers. how to get there

According to the Thai government, date of death of the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, starting this year, will be celebrated on a par with the death of Rama V, another highly respected monarch who ruled the country from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the twentieth. So from now on, the Thais in October commemorate the whole nation not one, but two great rulers - on the 13th and 23rd, respectively. Many institutions, especially in the capital, will close, there will be more parishioners in churches than usual - tourists should take this moment into account.

The official one-year period of mourning announced in connection with the death of King Rama IX last October seems to be over, but in fact mourning in Thailand 2017 it is unlikely to be limited to a year, the subjects of their monarch loved too much. And the point here is not at all in the ancient tradition of revering the King as a demigod, and not in the fact that the Thai criminal code provides for a very severe punishment for public displays of disrespect for him. No, the people really loved Rama IX and sincerely mourn his death.

Some facts about the reign of Rama IX

Here are just a few of the many reasons why king death in thailand the local population takes so to heart:

• In the second half of the twentieth century, 67% of the people of Thailand were below the poverty line, and by 2014 this figure had dropped to 11% - largely thanks to the efforts of the King.
• Bhumibol Adulyadej was a talented design engineer, one of his most significant projects was the development and creation of irrigation systems, including the technology for producing artificial clouds with rain. For an agrarian country where droughts are frequent, irrigation is a fundamentally important moment for a prosperous life. Irrigation systems, created under the King's plan and under his personal leadership, have increased the productivity of rice growing many times over and thus made Thailand one of the world's leading exporters of rice.
• Much has been done to improve the standard of living in the mountainous border provinces, where the local population had previously lived mainly by growing and selling opium poppy. Under the auspices of Bhumibol Adulyadej, these areas moved to the cultivation of more useful crops - apples, potatoes, strawberries, watermelons, tea and coffee. Hundreds of hospitals and schools were built in mountain villages.
• The king was in every way a wonderful person, a worthy example to follow. In addition to those talents that could be directly applied to the benefit of Thai society, he also showed aptitude for painting, photography, writing, poetry and music. He achieved the greatest success precisely in the field of music (in the 50s, a jazz composition composed by him became the first number of the program in one of the Broadway productions in New York), and he also succeeded in photography (he was one of the developers of lenses for Canon cameras - which is why on banknote 1000 baht, the monarch is depicted with a camera of this brand in his hands).

Finally, one cannot ignore the fact that deceased king of thailand devoted literally his whole life to serving his people: he ascended the throne at the age of 18 and remained on it until his death, when he turned 88. Yes, he ruled Thailand for 70 years in a row, therefore, for the vast majority of his subjects, he personified something unshakable and constant, like the sun in the sky and the earth underfoot. At the time of his death, he was the absolute world record holder for the reign - in this regard, he surpassed even the Queen of Great Britain, who was crowned in 1952. So to understand how the Thais feel in connection with the death of such a long-reigning monarch, perhaps only the British can, and even those only partially, because the 91-year-old Elizabeth II is still with them.

How are things in Thailand at the moment?

Those foreigners who have fallen in love with rest in the Land of Smiles are quite naturally concerned about this issue. But, as practice has shown, on the guests of the Kingdom thailand mourning for king over the past year, it had almost no effect, except that in the first weeks after the death of the ruler, someone had to make small adjustments to their tourist program. For example, the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha were closed to the public, as well as restrictions on the sale of alcohol and entertainment events. Otherwise, everything is as usual: the Thais are friendly and smiling, transport and other infrastructure is operating normally. The death of the king was a blow to everyone, but the country continues to live. Well, how much will it change? Thailand after the death of the king- this can be discussed when the son of Rama IX becomes a full-fledged new monarch (he will be crowned only after the cremation of the deceased father-ruler, which is scheduled for October 26).