60th Anniversary Celebrations of Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession

Official emblem

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.

Main programmes

Royal ceremonies

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

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.

Commemorations

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. Also, newspapers such as the Bangkok Post and The Nation reported brisk sales of commemorative publications.

On 16 January 2007, the government officially declared the end of the 60th anniversary celebrations and commenced year-long celebrations of Bhumibol's 80th birthday.

Attendees

Royal Family of Thailand

• The King and Queen
  • Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, the King's daughter
    • Ploypailin Jensen, the King's granddaughter
    • Sirikitiya Jensen, the King's granddaughter
  • The Crown Prince and Princess Srirasmi, the King's son and daughter-in-law
    • Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the King's granddaughter
    • Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, the King's granddaughter
  • The Princess Royal, the King's daughter
  • Princess Chulabhorn, the King's daughter
    • Princess Siribha Chudabhorn, the King's granddaughter
• ''The Princess of Naradhiwas'''s family:
  • Dame Dhasanawalaya Sornsongkram, the King's niece
    • Jitat Sornsongkram, the King's great-nephew
• Princess Soamsawali, the King's niece by marriage (also former daughter-in-law)

Absentees

• Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the King's grandson
• Princess Aditayadorn Kitikhun, the King's granddaughter
• The Princess of Naradhiwas, the King's sister
• Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda, the King's half-first cousin
• Princess Vimolchatra, the King's half-first cousin

Foreign Royalty

• Bahrain Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain (representing the King of Bahrain)
• Belgium The Duke and Duchess of Brabant (representing the King of the Belgians)
• Bhutan The Crown Prince of Bhutan (representing the King of Bhutan)
• Brunei The Sultan and Queen of Brunei
• Cambodia The King of Cambodia
• Denmark The Prince Consort of Denmark (representing the Queen of Denmark)
• Japan The Emperor and Empress of Japan
• Jordan The King of Jordan
  • Jordan Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan
• Kuwait The Emir of Kuwait
• Lesotho The King and Queen of Lesotho
• Liechtenstein The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (representing the Prince of Liechtenstein)
• Luxembourg The Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• Malaysia The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia
• Monaco The Prince of Monaco
• Morocco Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco (representing King of Morocco)
• The Netherlands The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands (representing the Queen of the Netherlands)
• Norway The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway (representing the King of Norway)
• Oman Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said (representing the Sultan of Oman)
• Qatar The Emir and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned of Qatar
• Spain The Queen of Spain (representing the King of Spain)
• Swaziland The King and Queen of Swaziland
• Sweden The King and Queen of Sweden
• Tonga The Crown Prince of Tonga (representing the King of Tonga)
• United Arab Emirates The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (representing the Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates)
• United Kingdom The Duke of York (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom)

References

References

1. Keenapan, Nattha (9 June 2006). "A symbol of greatness," ''[[International Herald Tribune]]''/''[[ThaiDay]]'' (print edition)
2. ''[[The Nation (Thailand). The Nation]]'' (10 June 2006), [http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/06/10/headlines/headlines_30006200.php "King of Hearts"] {{Webarchive. link. (3 March 2016)
3. ''[[The Nation (Thailand). The Nation]]'' (10 June 2006), [http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/06/10/national/national_30006204.php "HM the King calls for unity, kindness, compassion"] {{Webarchive. link. (3 March 2016 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 (Thailand). link. (29 September 2007 , 20 June 2006.)
5. (16 February 2007). "Govt launches commemorative events for HM the King's 80th birthday". The Nation.