Thais mark anniversary of king’s death with prayers, ceremony
King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death at age 88 after a reign of seven decades sparked a national outpouring of grief and a year of mourning that will culminate with his cremation on October 26
Thais marked one year since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej with solemn ceremonies and acts of personal devotion on Friday before an elaborate five-day funeral later this month.
Official commemorations of Bhumibol were organised at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, where he died, and at Government House and the ornate royal palace. But many ordinary people showed their respects on the streets, at neighbourhood markets and temples, kneeling before orange-robed monks to perform a Buddhist merit-making ritual.
“You see his achievements on TV sometimes, but now that he has passed we are learning about so many other things he has done for the country,” said Panicha Nuapho, 66, who travelled from a province 330km north of Bangkok to pay respects at Siriraj Hospital. “This is my final send-off,” she said, weeping.
Outside the hospital, mourners clad in black offered alms to a long procession of Buddhist monks and several thousand packed its grounds, joining nurses and doctors in prayers as monks chanted over loudspeakers.