60th Anniversary Celebrations of Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession

The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the Throne 2006 (Thai: งานฉลองสิริราชสมบัติครบ ๖๐ ปี พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๙; RIT translit. 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 60th year 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.

The emblem for the 60th Anniversary Celebration of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne

Official Emblem
"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

Royal ceremonies

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

DateTimeCeremonyPlace
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
HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej and HM The 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 HM The King Bhumibol Adulyadej and HM The Queen Sirikit, as well as members of the royal household, welcoming the visiting monarchs; Thai:พิธีพระประมุขและผู้แทนพระองค์จากพระราชวงศ์ต่างประเทศถวายพระพรชัยมงคล (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, or Thai:พิธีทอดพระเนตรกระบวนเรือพระราชพิธี (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, or Thai พิธีเปิดนิทรรศการเฉลิมพระเกียรติด้านการพัฒนา (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
  • 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

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
Country Name
CambodiaKing Norodom Sihamoni
QatarHamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
KuwaitSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
JordanKing Abdullah II
JapanEmperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
BruneiHassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha of Brunei
MalaysiaSirajuddin of Perlis and Tuanku Fauziah
MonacoAlbert II, Prince of Monaco
LuxembourgHenri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
LesothoLetsie III of Lesotho and Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso
SwazilandKing Mswati III and

late Queen Inkhosikati laDube

SwedenCarl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia

Royal representatives
Country Name Position
DenmarkPrince HenrikPrince Consort of Denmark
TongaCrown Prince SiaosiCrown Prince of Tonga
NorwayCrown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-MaritCrown Prince of Norway and his consort
NetherlandsWillem-Alexander, Prince of Orange and Máxima, Princess of OrangeHeir apparent of the Dutch throne, and his consort
BahrainKhalifa bin Salman Al KhalifaUncle of the King of Bahrain
BelgiumPhilippe, Duke of Brabant and Mathilde, Duchess of BrabantHeir apparent of the King of Belgium, and his consort
BhutanCrown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckCrown Prince of Bhutan
MoroccoPrincess Lalla SalmaPrincess Consort of the King of Morocco
LiechtensteinPrince Alois and Princess SophieHeir apparent of the Prince of Liechtenstein, and his consort
SpainQueen SofíaQueen Consort of the King of Spain
Arab EmiratesMohammed bin Zayed Al NahyanCrown Prince of Abu Dhabi
United KingdomAndrew, Duke of YorkSon of the Queen of the United Kingdom
OmanSayyid Shihab bin Tariq Taimur Al SaidSon of the Sultan of Oman

Commemorations
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.

See also

References
  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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