Coronation of the Thai monarch

[11] After the anointment, the chief nobles would then present the king with the different elements of his realm, namely the people, the capital city, the troops, the boats, the paddy fields and the treasury.

[5][14][15] When King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) established the Rattanakosin Kingdom with Bangkok as the capital in 1782, he performed a provisional coronation ceremony, often referred to in historical records as a Prapdaphisek (ปราบดาภิเษก).

The king also established the Devasathan or the Brahman temple, near Wat Suthat, as a religious centre so the Brahmins could continue to perform and officiate royal ceremonies at the court.

On 11 November, his son King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) decided to have a solemn ceremony, stripped to its bare essentials, with the anointment and the crowning at the apex of the coronation.

However, on 13 August, the government declared that the nine-tiered umbrella and other regalia should be presented to his remains and his regnal title changed posthumously by adding the prefix Phrabat, making him a fully consecrated king.

Later that night Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in a televised statement that the coronation would "be at [the King's] discretion" and would not take place until after 26 October 2017, when the royal cremation of his father was planned.

The importance of royal footwear can be traced back to the epic Ramayana, when a pair of Rama's sandals was chosen by Bharata to govern the kingdom in his stead, after the former was forced into exile.

One day before the actual inscription ceremony, a benediction is performed by several Buddhist monks in the main chapel of the Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

After the usual purification rites, the citing of the yantra of worship to the eight directions and to the deities on the altar, the Brahmin will, with great ceremony, dip the leaves of certain trees, such as the Aegle marmelos, that were esteemed in ancient times for their supposed medicinal and purifying values, into the water.

The entire assemblage of monks, following the recitation of the Five Precepts, will chant the Paritta Suttas and lay a protective thread around the buildings to ward off evil spirits.

[61][63][65] On the same day the covered tablets of the royal seal, titles and horoscope are officially transferred from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to the Phaisan Thaksin hall.

On the morning of the coronation day, the king will arrive at the Amarin Winitchai throne hall in the uniform of a field marshal of the Royal Thai Army.

After performing a brief prayer (repeating the Five Precepts), and receiving a blessing from the assembled monks inside the hall, at the auspicious time the Chief Brahmin will invite the king to take a ceremonial bath.

Prior to taking the bath, the king will pause at an altar erected in the courtyard to light candles and make offerings to Hindu deities.

[66] The water used in this ceremony is collected from the five principal rivers of the kingdom: the Chao Phraya, the Pa Sak, the Mae Klong (or Rachaburi), the Phetchaburi, and the Bang Pakong.

The king will be offered the water in small bowls by members of the Buddhist clergy, the royal family, government ministers, and other officials as an act of blessing.

After he has finished receiving the water from high officials, the king will return to his private apartments in the Chakkraphat Phiman residence before reappearing in full regal vestments in the Phaisan Thaksin Hall for the anointing ceremony.

The king proceeds from his private apartments to the Octagonal Throne, at the east end of the Phaisan Thaksin hall, led by royal pandits and Brahmins in a specific order.

[70] Opposite the eight sides of the throne are eight small tables on which the sacred images of various guardians are placed, with space for the anointment water vessels and conch shells.

[71] The anointment water used for this ceremony is taken from eighteen shrines and temples around the country, as divided into eight quadrants in accordance with the eight cardinal directions of the compass, with Bangkok being at the centre.

The eight guardians of the directions are derived from the traditional Buddhist idea of Hindu mythology, including the four heavenly kings: Dhṛtarāṣṭra (east), Virūḍhaka (south), Virūpākṣa (west) and Vaiśravaṇa (north), also known as Kubera; and the four subsidiary beings: Bhuta (southeast), Deva (southwest), Nāga (northwest) and Yaksha (northeast).

[80][77] The king then removes his crown as a sign of humility and devotion and proceeds to the Chakkraphat Phiman residence with chamberlains and pages bearing the royal regalia following him.

[80][77][81] With the main coronation rituals completed, the king is ready to grant an audience, and receive the homage of the royal princes, state officials and diplomats in the Amarin Winitchai throne hall.

This changed on 25 February 1926, when King Rama VII gave the title of queen to his only consort Rambai Barni immediately after his own coronation, and ending the practice of royal polygamy.

At an auspicious time, the king and queen will make their way to the state bedchamber within the Chakkraphat Phiman residence, followed by young ladies of the royal family, each bearing an article of domestic use or relics of past magical rites.

Two senior female members of the royal family will welcome them and gift to the king a fly-whisk made from a white elephant's tail and a bunch of areca flowers.

The state progress on land would entail the king sitting on a palanquin being led in procession by his retainers traveling with the Grand Palace on his right shoulder, around the city walls of Bangkok.

The state progress on water is a royal barge procession travelling along the Chao Phraya river, taking the king from the Grand Palace south to Wat Arun.

Gold and silver flowers will then be offered to the spirits protecting the throne, followed by the tying of a strip of red cloth around the umbrella's stem, and ending the service by the sprinkling of lustral water on the royal regalia.

For the late King Rama IX the celebration usually involved a general audience, where he appeared in state seated on the throne under the nine-tiered umbrella to receive well wishes.