The coronation of Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) as king of Thailand took place on 4 May 2019 at the Grand Palace, Bangkok. He ascended the throne at the age of 64 upon the death of his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, on 13 October 2016, accepting the accession invitation by Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, on 1 December 2016. The coronation was held within just three years after his accession to the throne in 2016 because of an appropriate length of time to pass after the death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej and the arrangement of the ceremony after the last such rite having been held in 1950.
The ceremonies of coronation, the first ever to be aired on television, were aired in both Thai and English by the Television Pool of Thailand. In an historic move, the broadcasts were also aired online through the Youtube and Facebook channels of Thai PBS and NBT English, the first livestreamed coronation in Thai history that enabled millions around the world to watch the ceremonies live regardless of location.
Coronation arrangement
6 April
The collection of water for use the ceremony took place on 6 April 2019, Chakri Day, in all 76 provinces and Bangkok. This event formally marked the official commencement of the preparatory activities to be held before the coronation day.
8 to 9 April
Buddhist monks in major temples consecrated the water collected in their respective provinces.
10 to 11 April
The collected waters from the provincial temples were officially transported to the Ministry of Interior Building in Bangkok by their respective provincial governors or their representatives.
12 April
At 13:00 (UTC+07:00), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration transferred the holy water obtained from The Sattrakhom Hall in the Grand Palace to the Ministry of Interior Building.
18 April
At 17:19 (UTC+07:00), all the holy water was taken in a procession from the Ministry of Interior Building to Wat Suthat for another consecration.
19 April
At 7:30 (UTC+07:00), the holy water was taken in a procession to Wat Phra Kaew, where it was kept until coronation day.
22 April
At 16:00 (UTC+07:00), ten monks who are abbots from several Thai Buddhist temples chanted prayers at Wat Phra Kaew to bless the ceremony and the Royal Plaques.
23 April
At 9:25 (UTC+07:00), A ceremony was held at the ubosot of Wat Phra Kaew to record the king's horoscope and the official titles of the king and his family on the Royal Golden Plaques and to engrave the Royal Seal of State. Following the ceremony the Court Brahmins of the Devasathan Temple, led by the Chief Brahmin of the Royal Family of Thailand, blessed the plaques and the Seal.
The Royal Horoscope was engraved by the court astrologer Chatchai Pinngern, who was present during the ceremony.
29 April
Tree plantings of yellow star trees, considered royal trees by the king, were conducted nationwide in every forest and national park in all 76 provinces.
1 May
In a ceremony at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall the king officially married Gen Suthida Tidjai and officially designated her as Queen of Thailand. The ceremony was held with Princess Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal, and the President of Privy Council Prem Tinsulanonda as witnesses.
Royal coronation
2 May
At 16:09 (UTC+07:00), the King, Queen Suthida and Princess Bajrakitiyabha paid homage to the Equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn and the Memorial of Rama I . He also paid respect to sacred icons placed at both the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall and Chakraphat Phimarn Royal Residence.
Nationwide, mass Buddhist monastic ordinations in honor of the coronation were organized by the National Office of Buddhism and the Sangha Supreme Council (Mahāthera Samāgama) in all 76 provinces together with their respective provincial and local governments, with 6,810 receiving their holy orders of monkhood, including personnel of the civil services, the armed forces and police.
3 May
At 10:00 (UTC+07:00), The Royal Golden Plaques and the Royal Seal of State were transferred from Wat Phra Kaew to Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall (Phra Thinang Phaisan Thaksin) in procession, and they were placed into the hall by the Lord Chamberlain of the Chakri dynasty, Air Chief Marshal (ret) Satitpong Sukvimol, RTAF. The Weapons of Sovereignty were earlier transferred from the Temple to a special table in the hall.
In the late afternoon, Buddhist monks assembled for the benediction vigil chanted the traditional Paritta Suttas for the coronation and laid a protective thread around the buildings of the Phra Maha Monthien group within the wider Grand Palace complex as a precaution against evil spirits, preceded by a candle lighting ceremony and then, following the recitation of the Five precepts, by the lighting by Supreme Patriarch Ariyavongsagatanana (Amborn Ambaro) in the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall (Phra Thinang Amarin Winitchai Mahaisuraya Phiman) of the Victory Candle (Candle of Victory, เทียนชัย) in the presence of the king, signifying the official commencement of the ceremony.
Following this, a senior monk formally declared the official commencement of the coronation ceremonies in both Pali and Thai (the sacred languages of the Buddhist religion in Thailand). 35 monks were stationed at the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall, where the soon to be crowned King was present as the presider of the vigil service, with another 5 being assigned to the Chakraphat Phimarn Royal Residence (Phra Thinang Chakraphat Phiman).
After the chanting the Chief Brahmin gave the King the leaves of certain trees, such as the Aegle marmelos, that were esteemed in ancient times for their supposed medicinal and purifying values, which, following being dipped in holy water, were brushed by him on the head and hair to symbolise purification and gave them back later to the Chief Brahmin before being burned. These leaves were earlier dipped by the Court Brahmin from the Devasathan Temple as part of a Hindu ceremony called the homa (sacrifices to fire).
After the monks departed, the king then gave offerings of flowers, each to the Hindu deities in Devasathan, to the sacred white royal nine-tiered umbrellas (five dotted around the various palaces), and to the images of the guardian spirits of the capital city at the city shrine, preceded by a second candle lighting rite paying respect to sacred Buddha images and guardians of the holy thrones in the palace. After this senior government officials took their places with persons of royal descent and the Court Brahmin around the Octagonal Throne where a ceremony was held to bless the throne.
Preceding the vigil, the king made a short visit to Wat Phra Kaew.
4 May
At 10:09 (UTC+07:00), the Royal Purification, or the Song Muratha Bhisek Ceremony, took place at the Chakraphat Phimarn Royal Residence (Phra Thinang Chakraphat Phiman), in the presence of the Supreme Patriarch and the Chief Brahmin, preceded by the reading of the Five Precepts.
Shortly afterwards, King Maha Vajiralongkorn switched to a white dress trimmed with gold for purification ceremony. After making offerings and paying respects, the King sits in a specially erected pavilion. As a shower of sacred water poured upon his head, a 40-gun salute was fired and the prakhom band trumpeters sounded a fanfare. Within the precincts of the Palace, the Royal Guards played the Royal Anthem as monks recited their chants of benediction. Sacred water is also being given by the Supreme Patriarch, HSH Prince Pusan Svastivatana, HSH Prince Chulchern Yugala and the Chief Court Brahmin, Phra Maha Raja Guru Bidhi Sri Visudhigun. The King then cleansed himself with the waters collected earlier from all 76 provinces across Thailand.
The ablution rite was then followed by the Anointment Ceremony at the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall's Octagonal Throne, in which the King was presented with 9 bowls of consecrated water from the government officials and royal representatives who were present the previous night, representing the Thai people, the royal family and the state government, wherein he was formally granted the full authority of his kingship in accordance with the religious and historical traditions of the state and the Constitution. In each of the directions of the throne, the Chief Brahmin gave the king the bowl of water, in which he dipped his hands, and following the act the Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella was presented to him after the Court Brahmin chanted a Hindu mantra. Only after the Royal Umbrella is presented which symbolises the full consecration of the King, the King from that point can be addressed as Phrabat Somdet Phra Chaoyuhua (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว)
Then the king proceeded to the Phatharabit Throne and was seated under the Royal Nine-tiered Umbrella as the new consecrated sovereign, where, after paying homage and reciting the Tamil mantra "Opening the portals of Kailash" (from the Tiruvacakam), the Chief Brahmin presented him with the Royal Golden Plaque and other official royal regalia, during which the Royal Anthem was officially played, a fanfare sounded and a 101-gun salute from the Ceremonial Gun Battery, 1st Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, King's Guard of the Royal Thai Army fired at both the Grand Palace and the Sanam Luang Royal Plaza as similar salutes were fired in the provinces in saluting stations manned by personnel of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, while bells were rung in Buddhist temples nationwide. Distinctive blowing of conch shells were heard as the King crowned himself with the 7.3 kg Great Crown of Victory at 12:10 (UTC+7:00). After the Crowning and Investiture Ceremony, in response to the Chief Brahmin formally informing him of new royal title and the benediction that preceded it, the king presented the First Royal Command to the Court Brahmins and the Chief Brahmin of the Royal Family, in the following manner:
The King: From today, I shall continue, preserve, and build upon the royal legacy and shall reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the people forever.
The Chief Brahmin: Your Majesty, I do receive this the first command of yours, and will fulfill it to the best that I can do.
Following the exchange, he then poured water into a bowl as an offering to Phra Mae Thorani the goddess of earth in an ancient Hindu rite of ratification and confirmation for a good deed.
This was followed by the consecration and installation of Queen Suthida as Queen of Thailand, wherein following the proclamation of her installation he awarded her with the insignias of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri and the Order of the Nine Gems, while fanfare and music is played and a Buddhist benediction said. Following this the King scattered gold and silver flowers and coins among the Court Brahmin and members of the royal family as alms.
Minutes after the Victory Candle was extinguished at the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall amidst the chanting of the monks in the presence of the king and queen.
At 13:19 (UTC+07:00), the ceremony of Assumption of the Royal Residence then followed at the Chakraphat Phimarn Royal Residence.
At 14:00 (UTC+07:00), The king held an audience with members of the Royal Family, the Privy Council, government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of public and private enterprises at the Phuttan Kanchanasinghat Throne inside the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall, where he gave his first address to the nation as crowned sovereign of the people and nation of Thailand. The loyal address on behalf of members of the Royal Family was made by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal, followed by the loyal address on behalf of the government, civil service, armed forces and police which will be taken by the Prime Minister of Thailand, Gen (ret) Prayut Chan-o-cha, RTA, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge Cheep Chulamon, and the loyal address on behalf of the people which was made by the President of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai. During the first playing of the Royal Anthem, another 21-gun salute was fired in Bangkok.
At 16:00 (UTC+07:00), the king proceeded to Wat Phra Kaew to proclaim himself the Royal Patron of Buddhism and be granted a final coronation blessing, following which, he ended the day with a sunset visit to the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall to pay tribute to his royal ancestors. A short memorial service was held, wherein the new king offered orange robes to the presiding group of monks in gratitude for their presence.