Thailand King coronation LIVE updates: Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned as divine monarch

As Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn was formally crowned as divine Monarch on Saturday. as divine monarch. The king donned the 7.3 kg (16 lb) Great Crown of Victory as part of the elaborate coronation ceremonies mixing Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions.

He was crowned king after an extended mourning period for his revered father.

The coronation, which is a three-day ceremony began today.

This will be the first such ceremony in 69 years since his father Bhumibol Adulyadej died two years ago, Adulyadej became Thailand’s monarch in 1950.

The ceremony which is expected to cost more than $30 million is an interesting mix of Buddhist and Brahminical rituals, symbolically declaring the king as devaraja (God-king) and upholder of Buddhism in Thailand.

A monarch’s coronation is given the utmost priority in Thailand, where kings have traditionally long held a divine status, and that is reflected in some astounding numbers.