Oct 26 set for late Thai king’s cremation
BANGKOK: Thailand will hold the cremation for its late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Oct 26, the junta announced, a ceremony that will be held at an enormous funeral complex currently being built outside his palace.
Government spokesman Lieutenant- General Sansern Kaewkumnerd said five days of funerary rites would begin on Oct 25, with the cremation held on the second evening.
A public holiday will be declared that day.
Cremations for senior Thai royals are huge, arcane and costly affairs, but a monarch’s funeral – the last one was in 1950 – is on an even more monumental scale.
At the time of his death on Oct 13, last year, Bhumibol, 88, was the world’s longest-reigning monarch.
His rule spanned seven tumultuous decades that witnessed significant economic growth but saw democratic aspirations wilt under the weight of multiple palace-endorsed coups.
While he was ill for years, his passing still left many Thais bereft.
A huge cremation complex is being constructed on a parade ground specially reserved for royal funerals outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
The complex, which will include towering pavilions and hundreds of statues of gods and mythical beasts, represents Mount Meru – the allegorical centre of the universe in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cosmology where Thais traditionally believe Bhumibol’s spirit will return. —