60th Anniversary Celebrations of Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession

The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the Throne (Thai: งานฉลองสิริราชสมบัติครบ ๖๐ ปี พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๙; RTGS: Ngan Chalong Siriratchasombat Khrop Hok Sip Pi Pho So Song Phan Ha Roi Si Sip Kao) were the celebrations held throughout Thailand in 2006 to celebrate King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 60 years on the throne. The celebrations were arranged by the Royal Thai Government with Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister, and joined by representatives of other monarchies.

Official emblem edit

"The Nine Gems", one of several arches over Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok in honour of the 60th anniversary of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's ascension to the throne

Conmemorative Medal Ribbon

King Bhumibol selected one of twelve designs presented by the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture to be the official emblem for the celebrations. The emblem selected was designed by department artist Somchai Supphalakamphaiphon.

There are several symbols in the emblem. The centerpiece is a cypher of the king's name in golden yellow, the colour of Monday, his day of birth. The cypher is set on a blue background, which is a royal colour. The device is encircled with diamonds, which symbolise wise men, important authors, craftsmen, the sacred white elephant, graceful women, vigorous soldiers, and public servants.

The Royal Regalia that circumscribe the device: the Great Crown of Victory surmounts the throne, flanked by a sword and a yak's tail whisk; under the throne is a pair of royal slippers. These five objects are used in coronation ceremonies, which were last used during the king's coronation on 5 May 1950.

The bottom of the emblem features a pink ribbon with the name of the celebrations inscribed in gold. The two ends of the ribbon are held by the monkey god Hanuman, the devotee and leader of Rama's army in the Ramakien, and Garuda, the Hindu god Vishnu's vehicle. The green and gold colors in the background represent the fertility of the land.^[1]

Main programmes edit

Royal ceremonies edit

The king endorsed the royal programmes during the periods of June 2006 as follows:

Date	Time	Ceremony	Place
Thursday, 8 June	17:00	The merit making royal ceremony in dedication to the royal ancestors	Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall
Friday, 9 June	09:00–17:00	The letting of the public paying of homage to the royal ancestors	Phra Thep Bidon Hall, Wat Phra Si Rattanasatsadaram
	10.00 hours	The homage paying royal ceremony in dedication to the royal ancestors. Thai:พระราชพิธีบวงสรวงสมเด็จพระบูรพมหากษัตริยาธิราชและเสด็จออกมหาสมาคม (Phra ratchaphithi buangsuang somdet phra burapha maha kasattriyathirat lae sadet ok maha samakhom). King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit lit candles in front of the worship items, paid homages to the Buddha Images, presented the commemorative fans to the 10 high ecclesiastic monks, rested on the throne, vowed adherence to the Buddhist sermon.	Anantasamakhom Throne Hall
	10.00 hours	King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit holding the grand audience. After that, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave the royal reply speech.^[2]^[3]	Balcony of Anantasamakhom Throne Hall
Saturday, 10 June	17:00	The 60th Year on Throne Anniversary Royal Celebrations: The establishment of ecclesiastical ranks The religious ceremonies The throne celebrating walking ceremony	Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall
Monday, 12 June	16:00	King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, as well as members of the royal household, welcoming the visiting monarchs (Thai: พิธีพระประมุขและผู้แทนพระองค์จากพระราชวงศ์ต่างประเทศถวายพระพรชัยมงคล, romanized: Phithi phra pramuk lae phu thaen phra ong chak phra ratchawong tang prathet thawai phra phon chaiyamongkhon)	Anantasamakhom Throne Hall
	18:30	The monarchs inspecting the Royal Projects Exhibition and the Royal Barge Procession ((Thai: พิธีทอดพระเนตรกระบวนเรือพระราชพิธี, romanized: Phithi thot phra net krabuan ruea phra ratchaphithi)	The Royal Thai Navy's Auditorium, and Ratchanawikasapha (Royal Thai Navy Hall)
	19:30	The Opening Ceremony of the Exposition of Royal Honorification on Development (Thai: พิธีเปิดนิทรรศการเฉลิมพระเกียรติด้านการพัฒนา, romanized: Phithi poet nithatsakan chaloem phra kiat dan kan phatthana)	Royal Thai Navy Conference Hall
Tuesday, 13 June	19:30	Royal Banquet	Borommaratchasathit Maholan Hall, Grand Palace

The royal ceremonies were broadcast in their entirety nationwide by The Television Pool of Thailand through every general television channel at the dates and times listed.

State ceremonies edit

Lighting of Well-Wishing Candles Ceremony, Friday, 9 June 2006, 19:19, Sanam Luang.
Feasting Assemblage arranged by the Government to offer the dinner to the monarchs, the Government House.
Trooping the Colour, Thanon Ratchadamnoen.

Visiting royalty edit

Of the 29 reigning monarchs worldwide in 2006, 25 accepted the Royal Thai Government's invitation to join the celebrations in Thailand: 13 sovereigns were themselves in attendance, while 12 sent representatives. Absent were the now-deposed Gyanendra of Nepal, owing to his country's internal political instability and Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, owing to ill health.

Heads of state and consorts edit

Country	Name
Brunei	Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha of Brunei
Cambodia	King Norodom Sihamoni
Japan	Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
Jordan	King Abdullah II
Kuwait	Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Lesotho	King Letsie III and Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso
Luxembourg	Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Malaysia	Sirajuddin of Perlis and Tuanku Fauziah
Monaco	Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Qatar	Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Swaziland	King Mswati III and Queen Inkhosikati laDube
Sweden	Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia

Royal representatives edit

Country	Name	Position
Bahrain	Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa	Prime Minister and uncle of the King of Bahrain
Belgium	Philippe, Duke of Brabant and Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant	Heir apparent of the King of Belgium, and his consort
Bhutan	Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck	Crown Prince of Bhutan
Denmark	Prince Henrik	Prince Consort of Denmark
Liechtenstein	Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie	Regent and heir apparent of the Prince of Liechtenstein, and his consort
Morocco	Princess Lalla Salma	Princess Consort of the King of Morocco
Netherlands	Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange and Máxima, Princess of Orange	Heir apparent of the Dutch throne, and his consort
Norway	Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit	Crown Prince of Norway and his consort
Oman	Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said	Representatives of the Sultan of Oman
Spain	Queen Sofía	Queen Consort of the King of Spain
Tonga	Crown Prince Siaosi Tupou	Crown Prince of Tonga
United Arab Emirates	Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan	Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom	Prince Andrew, Duke of York	Son of the Queen of the United Kingdom

Commemorations edit

King 60th Anniversary wristband

Thais wore royal yellow tee shirts to celebrate (although in some organisations it became mandatory), and as the main celebration period of 9–13 June approached, shirts bearing the celebrations' special emblem rapidly sold out. The Ministry of Commerce ordered another 500,000 shirts to meet demand, and many people still wore yellow shirts weeks after the celebrations ended.

Also popular were orange rubber wristbands, similar to the Livestrong wristbands, inscribed "We love the King."

Photographs of the ceremonies are also popular. The Bureau of the Royal Household set up a photo lab specifically to fill orders for official images, and on Bangkok's streets there are vendors selling copies of the photos of the king and visiting royals.^[4] Also, newspapers such as the Bangkok Post and The Nation reported brisk sales of commemorative publications.

References edit

^ Keenapan, Nattha (June 9, 2006). "A symbol of greatness," International Herald Tribune/ThaiDay (print edition)
^ The Nation (June 10, 2006), "King of Hearts" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
^ The Nation (June 10, 2006), "HM the King calls for unity, kindness, compassion" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine After the royal address, officials performed the metal drum and the Trump of Farang, the Three Forces of Military paid respect, and the brass band performed Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami.
^ The Nation "Royal Household Bureau to sell jubilee celebration pictures" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, June 20, 2006.

External links edit

Palaces of the King – Galleries of images by Royal Household photographers
A Visionary Monarch – provides a lot of insights on his visions and contributions to the country.

[1] Keenapan, Nattha (June 9, 2006). "A symbol of greatness," International Herald Tribune/ThaiDay (print edition)

[2] The Nation (June 10, 2006), "King of Hearts" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

[3] The Nation (June 10, 2006), "HM the King calls for unity, kindness, compassion" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine After the royal address, officials performed the metal drum and the Trump of Farang, the Three Forces of Military paid respect, and the brass band performed Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami.

[4] The Nation "Royal Household Bureau to sell jubilee celebration pictures" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, June 20, 2006.

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