Gongzim Ugyen Dorji as a befitting a person born as an aristocrat, was groomed for diplomacy and politics from a very early age by his father Shap Penchung who was a very influential member of the court, as well as being the Dzongpon (Dzong Lord) of Jungtsa.
As a young lad, Gongzim Ugen Dorji acted as a moderator between the British diplomatic officials and the Bhutanese court.
At this time, Sir Ashley Eden and his entourage were incarcerated and threatened with execution by the Bhutanese government officials, but Gongzim Ugyen Dorji's father Shatpa Puenchung was instrumental in saving their lives and setting them free.
Civil administration had fallen to the hands of Wangchuck, and in November 1907 he was unanimously elected hereditary monarch by an assembly of the leading members of the clergy, officials, and aristocratic families.
[4][5] After two generations as Gongzim to the Wangchuck dynasty, Kesang Choden, the sister of Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji – the daughter of Topgay Raja and Princess Rani Mayum Choyin Wangmo of Sikkim – married the Third King, creating a new bond so prominent as to cause discontent among other Bhutanese families.
[1] On April 5, 1964, reformist Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji was assassinated in Phuentsholing by military cadres as the king lay ill in Switzerland.
[7] [6] The King's own uncle and head of the Royal Bhutan Army, Namgyal Bahadur, was among those executed for their role in the assassination of Jigme palden Dorji.