On his first full day in Bangkok, Pope Francis meets privately with King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the official protector of Buddhism in Thailand.
By Linda Bordoni
One occasion of his 32nd Apostolic Go to overseas that happened removed from the general public eye was Pope Francis’ personal assembly with the King of Thailand.
On the morning of his first full day in Bangkok, a Chamberlain to the King obtained the Pope as he arrived on Thursday at Amphorn Royal Palace which is located inside Bangkok’s Dusit Palace, and serves as the present main residence of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Development of the luxurious Palace started in 1890 by the order of King Chulalongkon (Rama V) who needed a grand residential corridor contained in the Dusit Gardens. It was initially named the ‘Ivory Backyard’ and subsequently modified to the ‘Amphorn Sathan Residential Corridor’ which translated from Thai, means “The royal seat within the sky”.
Through the Pope’s personal go to with King Vajiralongkorn and his Royal consort, Queen Suthida, a dialog happened, items had been exchanged, however the press was excluded.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn was the crown prince when he greeted Pope St. John Paul II on the one earlier papal go to to Thailand in 1984.
He was formally topped earlier this 12 months and is the official protector of Buddhism in Thailand.
Though King Vajiralongkorn inherited the throne in 2016 when his long-reigning father Bhumibol Adulyadej died, he requested for time to mourn earlier than taking the throne.
Thailand has a constitutional monarchy, however the royal household is very revered by Thais and wields appreciable energy. Throughout a three-day Coronation Ceremony the 66-year-old king was handed the 7.3kg ‘Nice Crown of Victory’, which he positioned on his head.
Because the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, he’s often known as Rama X. Aged 64 on the time of his coronation, Vajiralongkorn turned the oldest Thai monarch to ascend to the throne.
Thailand as we all know it at present didn’t exist as a nation till the early 1900s. Previous to the 1900s, numerous kingdoms vied for energy throughout the land, making a wealthy and engaging historic saga.
Thailand was known as the Kingdom of Siam up till 1939, when its title was formally modified to Thailand.
