[1] He ascended the throne at the age of 64 upon the death of his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, on 13 October 2016, accepting the accession invitation by Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, on 1 December 2016.

At 13:00 (UTC+07:00), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration transferred the holy water obtained from The Sattrakhom Hall in the Grand Palace to the Ministry of Interior Building.

At 16:00 (UTC+07:00), ten monks who are abbots from several Thai Buddhist temples chanted prayers at Wat Phra Kaew to bless the ceremony and the Royal Plaques.

Nationwide, mass Buddhist monastic ordinations in honor of the coronation were organized by the National Office of Buddhism and the Sangha Supreme Council (Mahāthera Samāgama) in all 76 provinces together with their respective provincial and local governments, with 6,810 receiving their holy orders of monkhood, including personnel of the civil services, the armed forces and police.

In the late afternoon, Buddhist monks assembled for the benediction vigil chanted the traditional Paritta Suttas for the coronation and laid a protective thread around the buildings of the Phra Maha Monthien group within the wider Grand Palace complex as a precaution against evil spirits, preceded by a candle lighting ceremony and then, following the recitation of the Five precepts, by the lighting by Supreme Patriarch Ariyavongsagatanana (Amborn Ambaro) in the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall (Phra Thinang Amarin Winitchai Mahaisuraya Phiman) of the Victory Candle (Candle of Victory, เทียนชัย)[15] in the presence of the king, signifying the official commencement of the ceremony.

Following this, a senior monk formally declared the official commencement of the coronation ceremonies in both Pali and Thai (the sacred languages of the Buddhist religion in Thailand).

These leaves were earlier dipped by the Court Brahmin from the Devasathan Temple as part of a Hindu ceremony called the homa (sacrifices to fire).

After the monks departed, the king then gave offerings of flowers, each to the Hindu deities in Devasathan, to the sacred white royal nine-tiered umbrellas (five dotted around the various palaces), and to the images of the guardian spirits of the capital city at the city shrine, preceded by a second candle lighting rite paying respect to sacred Buddha images and guardians of the holy thrones in the palace.

The ablution rite was then followed by the Anointment Ceremony at the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall's Octagonal Throne, in which the King was presented with 9 bowls of consecrated water from the government officials and royal representatives who were present the previous night, representing the Thai people, the royal family and the state government, wherein he was formally granted the full authority of his kingship in accordance with the religious and historical traditions of the state and the Constitution.

[citation needed]Following the exchange, he then poured water into a bowl as an offering to Phra Mae Thorani the goddess of earth in an ancient Hindu rite of ratification and confirmation for a good deed.

Minutes after the Victory Candle was extinguished at the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall amidst the chanting of the monks in the presence of the king and queen.

As was during the Saturday audience, Gen (Ret) Prayut Chan-o-cha, RTA, the Prime Minister of Thailand, gave the day's loyal address in the name of the assembled crowds, members of the state government and the armed forces and police.

At 19:01 a special drone-flying exhibition in honor of the coronation, the final event of the day, was held at the Sanam Luang Royal Plaza with 300 drones taking part.

11 elephants accompanied by their handlers marched on across Sanam Chai Road from the Territorial Defence Command Building to Wat Phra Kaew and vice versa.

General Gen. Pornpipat Benyasri, Chief of the Defense Force, led 6,812 military and police personnels in declaring faithful allegiance to the King.