How will the remains of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol be cremated tonight?

The funeral of Thailand’s late King Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej is underway. According to Thailand's "The Nation" report, the funeral and cremation ceremony is scheduled to be held at 10 pm local time on October 26 (11 pm Beijing time). On that day, hundreds of thousands of people went to the scene to pay their respects.

According to reports, on the evening of the 26th local time, members of the Thai royal family, including King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, and foreign guests attending the funeral went to the royal cremation pavilion to say their final farewells to Bhumibol. At 10 o'clock that night, the cremation ceremony will be held in a specially built cremation pavilion. At that time, Bhumibol's only son and the current King of Thailand, Vajiralongkorn, will burn his father's body in the cremation pavilion. Earlier that day, the body of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej was transferred from the Grand Palace to the cremation platform, awaiting official cremation.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Thailand’s top religious leader first performed a religious ceremony for Bhumibol at the Royal Pavilion, and then a large number of senior monks began to chant sutras for Bhumibol.

Preparations for Bhumibol's funeral took a full year, during which time his body was embalmed. Thailand has been in a period of mourning for a year. The funeral started on the 25th and lasted for 5 days. The 26th is the day of cremation and ascension. Thailand has a special day off to facilitate the public to participate in Bhumibol's final farewell ceremony. On that day, a large number of people in Thailand lined up to attend the cremation ceremony of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The late King Bhumibol of Thailand was born on December 5, 1927, and ascended the throne in 1946. On October 13, 2016, local time, Bhumibol died of illness in Bangkok Sirilat Hospital at the age of 89. After reigning for 70 years, he was the longest-reigning king in the world and the ninth king of the Bangkok dynasty. , revered as Rama IX.

Bhumibol was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His father, Prince Mahidol Adulyadej, was studying at Harvard University at the time. When he was two years old, Bhumibol unfortunately lost his father. When he was six years old, he moved to Lausanne, Switzerland with his mother, where he studied science at the University of Lausanne.

Bhumibol's accession to the throne was also quite sudden. On June 9, 1946, after his brother King Ananta Madhun (Rama VIII) was suddenly assassinated, Bhumibol succeeded to the throne when he was less than 19 years old. At that time, Bhumibol was assisted by the regent and was crowned in 1950, thus beginning his life of leading Thailand.

Bhumibol is versatile, proficient in French, German and other foreign languages ??and has written monographs. He is passionate about music and likes piano and saxophone. He received a doctorate in music from the Austrian Conservatory of Music. He has written many famous pieces of music such as "Raindrops" and published music albums. He loves photography and has held personal photo exhibitions abroad many times. He is well versed in machinery and has won multiple European invention awards. He is also a good sailing expert. He won the gold medal in the sailing competition at the 1967 Southeast Asian Games and sailed across the Gulf of Thailand.

In 1948, 21-year-old Bhumibol was involved in a car accident in Switzerland and became blind in his right eye. During the recovery process, his relationship with Sirikit, the daughter of a royal family and the Thai ambassador to France at the time, became more stable. In April 1950, Bhumibol married the 18-year-old Sirikit, and the two had a child together. There are 3 daughters and 1 son.

Over the past sixty years, Bhumibol’s footprints have spread to every corner of Thailand. He used royal funds to build water conservancy projects and power stations. He also planted his own experimental fields in the imperial garden and established rice, dairy farms, and freshwater fish breeding and research centers. In view of King Bhumibol's outstanding contributions to agriculture, on May 26, 2006, then United Nations Secretary Annan went to Thailand to present the world's first "United Nations Development Program Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award" to King Bhumibol.

King Bhumibol has been deeply loved by the Thai people since he ascended the throne. As the longest-reigning king in Thai history, King Bhumibol was honored as "Bhumibol the Great" by the Thai people on May 8, 1987.

According to previous reports by Xinhua News Agency, King Bhumibol has also long-term care and support for China-Thailand friendship over the years and has made important contributions to promoting the development of China-Thailand relations. King Bhumibol once said that China-Thailand relations are inseparable. He said that the important reason why Thailand and China have such a special relationship is that the people of the two countries have the same or similar traditional customs, lifestyles and ideas.

The above-mentioned report also stated that during the reign of King Bhumibol, there were many coups in Thailand. However, King Bhumibol witnessed these political changes with a calm attitude, always stood firm, and repeatedly acted in critical situations. He came forward at the critical moment to turn Thailand's political situation into danger.