Update | Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej is cremated after year of mourning
Unannounced decision to conduct cremation behind closed doors confounds thousands of mourners who spent days camped out waiting for the service
Thailand bade farewell to late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday in an elaborate, ritual-soaked funeral in Bangkok’s historic quarter that gripped a nation mourning the loss of its chief unifying figure.
But after a day of pomp, pageantry and high anticipation, Thais were left confounded as the cremation of a monarch who ruled for seven decades unexpectedly took place behind closed doors.
Pipers, drummers and soldiers in a dazzling array of costumes joined Buddhist monks, Brahmin priests and the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn as the procession made its way to the glittering funeral pyre.
King Vajiralongkorn was scheduled to light his father’s pyre in an event which was set to be broadcast across Thai media to bring closure after a year of mourning to a people who enjoyed an intimate bond with the late king. But the decision to cremate in private wrong-footed mourners.
“The late King has been cremated but no broadcasting was allowed,” an official from the Royal Household Bureau said as media were suddenly dispersed from the area around the king’s pyre.