Salute to Queen as she becomes world’s longest reigning living monarch
IN full diving gear, two soldiers salute the Queen from inside a water-filled tank as she becomes the world’s longest-reigning living monarch.
She was marking the 300th anniversary of the Royal Engineers in Chatham, Kent, when she reached the milestone yesterday.
But it was tinged with sadness because it followed the death of the king of Thailand, who had been on the throne for 70 years.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, had reigned since June 9, 1946.
The Queen, who turned 90 in April, has reigned for 64 years, having succeeded her father George VI in February 1952.
On September 15 last year she surpassed the previous British record, held by her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria.
‘Private message of condolence’
Back then she said that overtaking her ancestor was ‘not a record to which I have ever aspired’.
Yesterday it was very much business as usual for her as she inspected 140 troops from an open-top Range Rover.
Wearing a Stewart Parvin turquoise wool dress with matching coat and a Royal Engineers brooch, she viewed heavy specialist equipment and was saluted by the two soldiers in the water tank.
Buckingham Palace said last night that the Queen had sent private messages of condolence to the Thai royal family.
In Thailand, as the government announced a one-year period of mourning for the king, many citizens took to the streets crying and carrying pictures of him.
Bhumibol Adulyadej – his name means ‘strength of the land, incomparable power’ – had been in poor health for several years and was rarely seen in public, but he was still viewed as something of a demi-god.
Strict laws banned any criticism of him or the Thai royals. In 2015 a man was sentenced to 30 years in jail by a military court for insulting the monarchy on Facebook.
Earlier this week it emerged the king had been taken to hospital where he was in a critical condition with kidney problems. An announcement yesterday said he had ‘passed away peacefully’ with family mem- bers by his side but did not give a specific cause of death. The world will now be watching to see how Thailand’s ruling military junta react to what is certain to be a pivotal moment for the country.
The king will be succeeded by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, who spends much of his time abroad and is considered something of a playboy.
The longest-reigning monarch ever was Sobhuza II of Swaziland, who was king for 82 years and 253 days. He died in 1982.