Qualla: Coronation of Vajiralongkorn

Coronation of Vajiralongkorn: Introduction

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tris_T7, CC BY-SA 4.0. Sixty-nine years had passed since the last coronation. When Vajiralongkorn, Rama X, was crowned king of Thailand on 4 May 2019 at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the elaborate Brahmanical and Buddhist rites that unfolded had not been performed since his father Bhumibol Adulyadej's coronation in 1950. The rituals were ancient, but the audience was modern -- for the first time in Thai history, the coronation was broadcast live on television and streamed on YouTube and Facebook, allowing millions around the world to witness a ceremony that had previously been seen only by those inside palace walls.

Image: Tris_T7 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronation of Vajiralongkorn: Water from Every Province

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tris T7, CC BY-SA 4.0. The preparations began nearly a month before the coronation itself, anchored in a ritual that symbolically gathered the entire kingdom. On 6 April 2019 -- Chakri Day, honoring the founding of the dynasty -- sacred water was collected from sources in all 76 provinces and Bangkok. ...

Image: Tris T7 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronation of Vajiralongkorn: Ancient Rites in a Modern Palace

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0. Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne on 13 October 2016, the day his father died, at the age of 64. He accepted the formal accession invitation from Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, on 1 December 2016. But the coronation was deliberately delayed -- an appropriate ...

Image: Chainwit. | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronation of Vajiralongkorn: A Balcony Address and 300 Drones

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tris_T7, CC BY-SA 4.0. On 6 May, two days after the coronation ceremonies, the king granted a public audience from the main balcony of Suthaisawan Prasat Pavilion Hall in the Grand Palace. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha delivered a loyal address on behalf of the assembled crowds, government officials...

Image: Tris_T7 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronation of Vajiralongkorn: A Kingdom Watching Together

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tris T7, CC BY-SA 4.0. What made this coronation distinct from its predecessors was not the rituals -- those followed patterns centuries old -- but the scale of witness. The Television Pool of Thailand broadcast the ceremonies in Thai and English. Thai PBS and NBT English streamed the events on YouTube...

Image: Tris T7 | CC BY-SA 4.0