THIMPHU, Oct. 15, (AFP) - The newly-married king of Bhutan and his 21-year-old bride greeted huge crowds of well-wishers on Friday during a day-long trip spent largely on foot returning to their palace in the capital.
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King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck kisses the Queen Jetsun Pema
during a ceremony at the main stadium in Thimphu in Bhutan yesterday. AFP |
The hugely popular 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck crowned Jetsun Pema, the commoner daughter of an airline pilot, on Thursday in a colourful Buddhist ceremony in the ancient capital of Punakha.
The staunchly royalist people of this remote Himalayan nation, which has resisted outside influences for centuries, turned out in their tens of thousands on the second day of festivities to mark the occasion.
The smiling monarch, holding hands with the queen throughout, joked and chatted with his subjects, many of whom bowed their heads in deference while offering white silk scarves to be blessed or other gifts.
Asked how many hands he had shaken as he neared the end of the day, Wangchuck told AFP: “I don't know! I haven't been counting. I've just been enjoying myself.”
His habit of spontaneously diving into crowds, greeting people and picking up babies is known to exasperate his security detail, but is a core part of his appeal to his 700,000 adoring subjects.
“The king thanked us that we waited so long for them and he said he was happy to be back in Thimphu,” said Pramod Pradhan, an 18-year-old student who spoke to the king. “I'm going to share that with my mum right now!”
When he was crowned in 2008 in Punakha, he also did much of the return journey to the capital Thimphu on foot, travelling only by car through the most unpopulated mountainous areas. |
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