Final farewell to late princess

Mourners attend inspiring royal cremation ceremony of HRH princess bejaratana

Thais nationwide, dressed in the mourning colours of black and white, bid their last goodbye to Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda - the only child of King Rama VI - in an inspiring royal cremation ceremony yesterday at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang and televised live through a TV pool.

Although it rained in the afternoon, mourners continued to wait in line to place fragrant sandalwood flowers at three pavilions in the north of the Sanam Luang. Fortysix Bangkok temples as well as other upcountry temples also held the sandalwood flower tribute simultaneously.

The royal cremation of Princess Bejaratana, which took place more than eight months after the princess passed away on July 27, 2011, began early yesterday at 7am. HRH Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn represented HM the King at the event.

Although the procession commenced around 9.30am, many people had camped along the procession's route from 5am to pay their respects to the late princess.

The royal urn with the late princess' remains was transferred to the Golden Palanquin with Three Poles (Phra Yannamas Sam Lamkhan) from the Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. The first procession of honour was to the Royal Great Victory Carriage (Phra Maha Phichai Ratcharot), which was parked in front of Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho).

The second procession of honour with the royal urn borne on the Royal Great Victory Carriage progressed to the Royal Crematorium at Sanam Luang. The third procession of honour then conveyed the royal urn to the Golden Palanquin with Three Poles circling counterclockwise three times around the crematorium, before carrying the urn to the royal funeral pyre.

Their Majesties the King and Queen and members of the Royal Family attended the symbolic royal cremation at 5:30pm and then proceeded to the Royal Crematorium at 10pm for the actual royal cremation.

As part of this great event, the Culture Ministry presented various public performances in the evening on three openair stages, from 7pm yesterday until 6am on April 10, a total of 10 hours. The stage performances would stop during the actual royal cremation. The Khon traditional Thai drama of Nong Loy was presented in a special performance by the traditional offering in front of the crematorium.

The first stage near Phra Pinklao Bridge featured the Nhang Yai great shadow plays with the Khon traditional Thai drama about the Ramayana Epic.

The second stage near the Supreme Court featured the Phra Abhaimanee puppet show, a scene from a Sakuntala play written by King Rama VI called Sakuntala, and a traditional Lakhon Nok drama featuring the folk tale of Sangthong. The plays were performed by artists from Fine Arts Department's Office of the Music And Drama as well as from 12 colleges of dramatic arts nationwide and the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute.

The third stage in front of Thammasat University featured singing performances by the Chulalongkorn University Band, Public Relations Department Band as well as the chorus from the Santirat Institute of Business Administration.

The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha is closed today to make way for the ceremony of collecting the royal relics and ashes and procession to the Grand Palace. Tomorrow, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha will close from 1pm onwards to make way for the religious ceremony for the royal relics, while the temple will close on Thursday for the royal relics enshrining ceremony.

As the Cabinet had agreed, the Thai public wore mourning black and the state offices, enterprises and schools flew the national flag at halfmast until today.

The royal cremation ceremonial ground will be open from tomorrow until next Tuesday, for the public to admire the Thai traditional craftsmanship, arts and culture through the specially built crematorium and surrounding buildings, including the Royal MeritMaking Pavilion (Phra Thinang Songtham).

The public can learn about the Princess's life and works at the permanent exhibition at Sanam Chan Palace.

The only child of King Rama VI and HRH Princess Suvadhana, Royal Consort of King Rama VI, HRH Princess Bejaratana was born on 24 November 1925 at the Grand Palace. The King died one day after her birth.

In her early childhood, the princess attended Bangkok’s Rajini School until age 13. She then moved to England during World War II with her mother to further her education before moving back to Thailand in 1957. The princess was a gifted individual, particularly with numbers, being able to calculate promptly which day of the week dates would fall, indicated in a calendar covering 300400 years.

She started her royal duties when her life became settled. Her main duties included continuing the legacy of her father in scouts activities for boys and girls, giving out scholarships and partaking in school activities, as well as being a patron of public social welfare, religion, and the military services. The Princess Bejaratana passed away on 27 July 2011 from a blood infection at the age of 85.

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