- Title: BHUTAN: Bhutan's Dragon King shows he is man of the people at coronation ceremony
- Date: 8th November 2008
- Summary: (BN12) THIMPHU, BHUTAN (NOVEMBER 7, 2008) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE STADIUM IN THIMPHU WHERE THE CITIZENS GATHERED TO CELEBRATE THE CORONATION OF THEIR FIFTH KING JIGME KHESAR NAMGYEL WANGCHUCK FLAGS OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES FLUTTERING OUTSIDE THE STADIUM
- Embargoed: 23rd November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Bhutan
- Country: Bhutan
- Topics: Royalty
- Reuters ID: LVA4TAOWQO4SRJVV38R0GDQDZ886
- Story Text: 28 year old Oxford educated, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck mingles with spectators during his coronation in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Bhutan's new Dragon King showed he was a man of the people as he mingled with crowds during his coronation ceremony on Friday (November 7).
The 28-year-old Oxford educated Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who assumed the Raven Crown on Thursday (November 6), spent most of the afternoon among the 20,000 spectators, chatting, joking, and greeting old friends, ordinary people, and tourists.
Bhutanese Foreign Secretary Yeshey Dorji said Wangchuck would guarantee the success of democracy.
"His majesty is the ultimate guarantor of the success of democracy. He is the repository of all our hopes and prayers. And without the institution of monarchy, without his majesty to guide us to ensure that democracy succeeds I think it is going to be difficult. But we are very confident. We know that our future is bright. We, the Bhutanese people are very fortunate to have enlightened leaders," he said.
Fifty years ago there were no cars or roads in Bhutan, and television and the internet only arrived in 1999.
But slowly Bhutan is entering the modern globalised world, with its young people taking cultural cues from places like the United States and India.
Wangchuck said in a national address inside the stadium in the capital Thimphu in the morning he was hopeful his people would continue to "pursue the simple and timeless goal of being good human beings".
"As even more dramatic changes transform the world and our nation, as long as we continue to pursue the simple and timeless goal of being good human beings, and as long as we strive to build a nation that stands for everything that is good, we can ensure that our future generations for hundreds of years will live in happiness and peace," he said.
With his slicked-back black hair, sideburns and winning smile he has the kind of star quality royal families dream of, looking a bit like a cross between a Hong Kong movie star and a young Elvis Presley.
As the entertainment continued, Wangchuck moved through the crowd dressed in a red and gold gho with the bright yellow scarf of the highest office worn across his left shoulder, stooping to talk and pick up or kiss young children.
"It is really wonderful to see a king or a leader so in touch with their people and so caring about their people. It is really a beautiful thing to see. He cares so much for his people and takes very good care of them," Pamela, a Canadian tourist said.
"Well the King will always be special to us no matter weather the government changes to a democracy or it is a monarchy, the king will always be special to the Bhutanese people," Deki Pelden Thinley, a Bhutanese citizen added.
Wangchuck's 52-year-old father introduced democracy to Bhutan and abdicated in favour of his son. Neither move was taken particularly well by his largely adoring subjects but both are now looking like masterstrokes.
The new young king is already enormously popular, especially among the young, and he appealed to them to help him build a better future for Bhutan, a country of just 635,000 people sandwiched precariously between billions of Indians and Chinese.
At the start of the second day of three days of national celebrations, Wangchuck inspected a military parade from the back of a jeep. Soldiers in modern uniforms marched to bagpipes, brass and drums, before the grass stage was given to Bhutan's ancient culture and brand of Buddhism.
Monks in black hats decorated with peacock feathers, in flowing robes, dipped and twirled to the blare of long trumpets and the beat of drums, in a sacred dance designed to subdue evil.
Painted elephants, horses with gold and silver saddles, mules, cows, yaks and sheep trooped past.
Then masked dancers dressed as spirits or mythical animals pranced on the turf. Warriors in ghos, cloth helmets and carrying round black shields brandished swords and whooped to ask the gods to bring them victory in battle. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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