|
King of
Thailand Turns Eighty |
|
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is the
longest reigning monarch in the world. He
has been on the throne of the Thai kingdom
for over 60 years! This year, numerous
special celebrations were held because the
king turned 80 on December 5. But by far the
greatest was the Royal Grand Audience held
at the Chakri Throne Hall of the Grand
Palace in Bangkok. My wife Gloria and I were
sent an invitation from the king to attend.
Attending the Grand Audience is a particular
honor because only the highest ranking
government officials, army and police
officers; and ambassadors of foreign
countries are invited. |
|
|
 |
People traveled from all over the
country to line the streets in yellow shirts
(the king’s color) to wait for the king’s
royal cavalcade. King Bhumibol is highly
revered in Thailand and for an ordinary Thai
person to even catch a glimpse of the king
is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even
with the special car pass we had been given
by the king’s secretariat, we still were
delayed as traffic started jamming up
because buses were parking on the streets
around the palace to disgorge the thousands
upon thousands of faithful subjects. |
|
| I was required to dress in formal white
tie and tails for this occasion. Gloria
calls it my “Penguin Suit”. She was dressed
in a yellow Thai silk traditional dress. We
were ushered into the formal garden area in
front of the Chakri Throne Hall by palace
servants and then led by the Chief of
Protocol to sign the official guest book. We
were the first to sign! |
 |
|
|
 |
Later we went out to the formal gardens
to look around and take pictures. Government
officials, military and police officers
dressed in full-dress uniforms with medals
and decorations began arriving. The ladies
all wore either uniforms or full length
traditional Thai dresses. The ladies also
wore all their medals and ribbons. In
Thailand, different regiments of the army
wear different color uniforms. As more and
more arrived, the gardens in front of the
Chakri Throne Hall where the royal audience |
|
| would take place became a sea of bright
red, yellow, purple, green, blue and even
pink! The Prime Minister and other
government officials wore white, again with
all their medals and royal decorations. What
a colorful event. Gloria and I met royal
ladies in waiting, the former President of
the Senate, the Queen’s doctor, General Prem
Tinsulanonda, former Prime Minster and now
the President of the Privy Council (King’s
advisory council) , and many other
dignitaries and officials as they took their
assigned places before the king and queen
arrived. |
 |
|
|
 |
Around 10:30 AM the royal anthem was
played and the king, queen and all the
members of the royal family arrived by
motorcade. The king, queen and crown prince
came outside onto the balcony overlooking
the garden area. A special throne had been
set up on the balcony with the royal garuda
insignia on a flag draped over the banister
in front of him. Cannons fired a 21 gun
salute and officials gave their
congratulatory speeches. The king gave his
formal speech of gratitude to the assembly
and all of us shouted, “long live the king”
several times. |
|
This all took only about an hour but it
was accompanied by much pageantry and royal
ceremony. It was all an incredible
opportunity to honor the king who has done
so much for so many years for his people.
Dr. Herbert W. Armstrong was a good friend
of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit and the
royal couple have never forgotten that
relationship. |
 |
|
Legacy Institute is blessed to
have the favor of the king and queen and
they look out for us as their guests in the
Kingdom of Thailand. It was a great honor to
join the many hundreds of thousands who
joined as one voice in shouting, “Long Live
the King!”
Leon Sexton
President, Legacy Institute |
|
|
The Royal SUPPORT Foundation of Queen Sirikit of Thailand
Queen Sirikit founded the Royal SUPPORT Foundation in 1975 to help
train poor women in handicraft arts to supplement their family
incomes. Since that time she has successfully opened scores of
vocational training centers which have trained thousands of hill
tribes, handicapped and poor men and women to produce some of the
finest quality handicrafts found anywhere in the world. Legacy
Institute supports and promotes the charitable activities of the
SUPPORT Foundation whenever possible. Chitralada School,
Chitralada Royal Palace, Thailand Legacy Institute recruits
qualified volunteer teachers from the United States to teach English
for one year at the primary and secondary school on the grounds of
Chitralada Royal Palace in Bangkok. |