#Bangkok - Huge crowds arrive for final dress rehearsal of Royal Cremation

A huge crowd turned out around Sanam Luang on Saturday to watch the final dress rehearsal of the historic Royal Cremation Ceremony for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Many of them had arrived at 9pm on Friday and camped out to reserve vantage viewing positions for the dress rehearsal of the royal processions for the Royal Cremation Ceremony. The Royal Cremation is scheduled next week.

Mourners who wanted to get access to the prime zone, where some 40,000 people can gather, had to go past nine checkpoints that opened at 5am on Saturday.

The three processions that will take place on the cremation day on October 26 will be rehearsed on Saturday.

The first procession will see the transfer of the Royal Urn to the Palanquin with Three Poles, or Phra Yannamas Sa Lam Khan, from Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to the Great Victory Chariot or Phra Maha Phichai Ratcharot in front of the Elevated Royal Pavilion on the eastern side of Wat Phra Chetuphon or Wat Pho.

The second procession will involve placing the Royal Urn on the Great Victory Chariot by the Naga Conveyor or Kroen Bandai Nak and then proceed to the Royal Crematorium at Sanam Luang.

The third procession will see the Royal Urn being transferred to the Royal Gun-carriage, or Rajarot Puen Yai, which will circumambulate three rounds counter-clockwise around the Royal Crematorium before taking the Royal Urn up to the funeral pyre or Phra Chittakathan.

Source - TheNation

#Thailand - Last day to pay respects to late King in Dusit Maha Prasat Hall.

TODAY is the last day that mourners will be allowed to pay final respects to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the beloved late King of the Chakri Dynasty, inside the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall.

Tens of thousands have flocked to the throne hall in the final week as the public has been allowed to pay respects to the late King since October 29.

King Bhumibol passed away on October 13 at Siriraj Hospital after a long illness during which he received medical treatment for many years. He was in his 89th year.

The gate for mourners will close today at midnight to allow for the preparation for the Royal Cremation that is scheduled from October 25 to 29 inside Sanam Luang’s main grounds. The official cremation will be on October 26. 

Mourners attending the Throne Hall will pay final homage before the Royal Urn placed in front of the King’s coffin.

As the final day draws nearer, more and more people have headed to the Grand Palace to pay final farewells to the late King.

At first, the daily closing hours for the mourners was 9pm and the initial closure day was scheduled for last Saturday. However, because of the increasing number of the mourners, HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn on September 26 had the deadline extended to midnight today.

During the extended period, the gates have remained open for mourners around the clock. 

Everyone who is already at the scene before midnight today will be allowed to pay final respects.

Yesterday an estimated 40,000 people queued with one line stretching from Democracy Monument to a screening point near the Rattanakosin Hotel and another from Mon Bridge to the Ror Dor roundabout, where screening also took place

Some mourners had been in the queue the previous night but had not made it inside the palace, so they were back to try again yesterday.

The Royal Household Bureau yesterday reported that 12,532,492 mourners had viewed the Royal Urn in the past 335 days. 

Donations received to make merit for the late King totalled Bt876,090,282, the bureau said. On Tuesday, 88,602 mourners visited the throne hall and donated Bt5,712,411.25, with the final visitors admitted at 3.50am yesterday. 

The highest records for visitations were set on October 1 at 90,300 mourners, Tuesday at 88,602, Monday at 78,948 and September 26 at 73,889.

Source - TheNation