The Grandest Gathering of World's Monarchs

Their Majesties received all the royals who have come to celebrate the grand occasion.





Then, they all went to watch the royal procession of 52 royal barges.

June 11 Fireworks

These fireworks were courtesy of the Japanese firework artists. We thank you!

June 10 2006 Fireworks over the Grand Palace

The King meets His loyal subjects - June 9 2006

His Majesty gives thanks and blesses the great crowd in the Grand Plaza on June 9, 2006.

(The translation was done verbatim. Inaccuracies are unintended. I beg of His Majesty's royal pardon for a loyal subject's limited knowledge.)

"ข้าพเจ้ามีความยินดีเป็นอย่างยิ่ง ที่ได้มาอยู่ในท่ามกลางมหาสมาคม พร้อมพรั่งด้วยบุคคลจากทุกสถาบันในชาติ ตลอดจนประชาชนชาวไทย ขอขอบใจในคำอำนวยพรและการเฉลิมฉลองยิ่งใหญ่ ที่ทุกคนตั้งใจจัดให้ข้าพเจ้าเป็นพิเศษ ทั้งรัฐบาลได้จัดงานครั้งนี้ได้เรียบร้อยและงดงาม น้ำใจไมตรีของประชาชนชาวไทยที่ร่วมกันแสดงออกทั่วประเทศ รวมทั้งที่พร้อมเพรียงกันมาในวันนี้ น่าปลาบปลื้มใจมาก เพราะแต่ละคนได้แสดงออกและตั้งใจมาด้วยความหวังดีจากใจจริง จึงขอขอบใจทุกๆ คน

จิตใจที่เปี่ยมไปด้วยความปรารถนาดี และความเป็นอันหนึ่งอันเดียวกันของทุกคน ทุกฝ่าย ทำให้ข้าพเจ้าเห็นแล้วมีกำลังใจมากขึ้น นึกถึงคุณธรรมซึ่งเป็นที่ตั้งของความรัก ความสามัคคี ที่ทำให้คนไทยเราสามารถร่วมมือร่วมใจกันรักษาและพัฒนาชาติบ้านเมือง ให้เจริญรุ่งเรืองสืบต่อกันไปได้ตลอดรอดฝั่ง

ประการแรก คือ การที่ทุกคนคิด พูด ทำ ด้วยความเมตตา มุ่งดี มุ่งเจริญต่อกัน ประการที่สอง คือ การที่แต่ละคนต่างช่วยเหลือเกื้อกูลกัน ประสานงาน ประสานประโยชน์กัน ให้งานที่ทำสำเร็จผล ทั้งแก่ตน แก่ผู้อื่น และกับประเทศชาติ ประการที่สาม คือ การที่ทุกคนประพฤติปฏิบัติตนอยู่ในความสุจริต ในกฎกติกา และในระเบียบแบบแผน โดยเท่าเทียมเสมอกัน ประการที่สี่ คือ การที่ต่างคนต่างพยายามทำความคิด ความเห็นของตนให้ถูกต้อง เที่ยงตรง และมั่นคงอยู่ในเหตุในผล หากความคิด จิตใจ และการประพฤติปฏิบัติที่ลงรอยเดียวกันในทางที่ดี ที่เจริญนี้ยังมีพร้อมมูลในกาย ในใจของคนไทย ก็มั่นใจได้ว่า ประเทศชาติไทยจะดำรงมั่นคงอยู่ตลอดไปได้ จึงขอให้ท่านทั้งหลายในมหาสมาคมนี้ ทั้งประชาชนชาวไทยทุกหมู่เหล่า ได้รักษาจิตใจและคุณธรรมนี้ไว้ให้เหนียวแน่น และถ่ายทอดความคิด จิตใจนี้กันต่อไปอย่าให้ขาดสาย เพื่อให้ประเทศชาติของเราดำรงยืนยงอยู่ด้วยความร่มเย็นเป็นสุข ทั้งในปัจจุบันและในภายหน้า

ขออำนาจคุณพระศรีรัตนตรัย และสิ่งศักดิ์สิทธิ์ในสากล จงคุ้มครองรักษาประเทศชาติไทย ให้ปลอดพ้นจากภัยอันตรายทุกสิ่ง และอำนวยความสุข ความเจริญ สวัสดี ให้เกิดมีแก่ประชาชนชาวไทยทั่วกัน"

I am very glad to preside over a grand congregation of individuals from every institution in the nation and the Thai people. Thank you for your well wishes and the grand celebrations that all have attentively and specially arranged for me. The government has organized the celebration events very nicely and beautifully. The gesture of goodwill expressed by the Thais all over the country and by those here is very touching. Because each of you sincerely and wholeheartedly expresses it, I thank you.

The well-wishful minds of all the people expressed in unison give me encouragement. This reminds me of rules of righteousness that combine love and unity. They can unify the Thais and help develop the country toward the prosperous future.

The first rule is everyone should think of, speak to, and treat one anther with kindness, compassion, and goodwill. The second one is everyone should help, cooperate, and look out for one another in order to get the work done. This work would then benefit oneself, others, and the nation. The third rule is everyone should keep his/her conducts equally honest, lawful, and true to traditions. The fourth rule is everyone should individually keep his/her own thinking and opinions correct, straight, and rational. Should the thinking, the mind, and the behavior all agree in the right way and all instill in the hearts and minds of the Thais, we can be sure that Thailand will last forever. I ask that all of you at this great gathering and all the Thais everywhere keep these principles in mind and close to your hearts. I ask that you hold on to and pass on the good thinking and mind without failing so that our country might continue to thrive in peace and prosperity, now and beyond.

May the holy power of Lord Buddha, Dhamma, and Sankha, and of all the Holiness in the universe bless Thailand and keep her safe from all adversities, and bless the Thais with happiness and prosperity.

Evening events included candlelight vigil at the Grand Park and firework displays at several locations.

June 8 Ceremony

The Official 60th Anniversary Celebrations Site

Royal Guests

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who is representing Her Majesty the Queen, is the first royal to arrive in Bangkok on June 7, 2006.

Royal Guests (Countries listed in alphabetical order)

HEADS OF STATE

- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei

- King Norodom Sihamoni, Cambodia

- Emperor Akihito, Japan

- King Abdullah II, Jordan

- Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait

- King Letsie III, Lesotho

- Grand Duke Henri, Luxembourg

- King Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Malaysia

- Prince Albert II, Monaco

- Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar

- King Mswati, Swaziland

- King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden

ROYAL REPRESENTATIVES

- Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, Bahrain

- Crown Prince Philippe, Belgium

- Crown Prince Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutan

- Prince Henrik, Denmark

- Prince Alois, Liechtenstein

- Princess Lalla Salma Bennani, Morocco

- Prince Willem-Alexander the Prince of Orange, The Netherlands

- Crown Prince Haakon, Norway

- Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Taimour Al Said, Oman

- Queen Sofia, Spain

- Crown Prince Tupouto’a, Tonga

- Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, United Arab Emirates

- Prince Andrew, Duke of York, United Kingdom

UNDP Lifetime Achievement Award

This Friday, June 9, 2006, commemorates the 60th Anniversary of our beloved King Rama IX's accession to the throne. Thais anywhere will join in the celebrations of this very special occasion.

The UNDP presented its first UNDP Lifetime Achievement Award to His Majesty on May 26 2006. Here is the address by the UN Secretary General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan.

[From http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10478.doc.htm]

Following is UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s address to the High-Level Panel on His Majesty the King and Human Development in Bangkok, 26 May:

Later today, I will have the honour to present the United Nations Development Programme’s inaugural Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. I feel especially privileged to do so on the sixtieth anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne.

For the United Nations, this ceremony has special significance for another reason, as well: it marks the very first time that we recognize outstanding contributions to development through this Award.

Human development, reduced to its essence, is a very simple concept: it is about empowering people. Not the few, not even the many, but all people. It is about empowering them through education, through opportunity, through health care and nutrition. It is about empowering individuals with choices so that they may live healthy, knowledgeable and creative lives.

Human development puts the individual at the centre of development. It emphasizes economic growth and sustainability, human rights and security, equity and political participation.

The United Nations prioritizes such development at the very centre of its agenda, and we put tremendous effort into promoting it. We do it through UNDP’s global and national Human Development Reports. We do it through the development work of UN Country Teams in 166 countries across the world. And we do it through this Award.

After all, if human development is about putting people first, there can no better advocate for it than His Majesty.

At his coronation in 1946, His Majesty uttered the famous Oath of Accession: “We shall reign with righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people.” Ever since, His Majesty has lived this Oath, selflessly devoting his time and efforts to the well-being and welfare of the people of Thailand, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or legal status.

As the world’s “Development King”, His Majesty reached out to the poorest and the most vulnerable people of Thailand, listened to their problems, and empowered them to take their lives into their own hands.

His Majesty’s rural development projects have benefited millions of people across Thailand. They have prompted small-scale agriculture; appropriate farming technologies; sustainable use of water resources; conservation; and flood and drought mitigation.

In northern Thailand, His Majesty’s rural development initiatives have helped reduce opium harvests through crop substitution. At the same time, these projects have improved access to health care and education for the local population, and brought significant benefits to the ethnic groups living in the mountainous region along the Myanmar and Lao borders.

His Majesty’s active support for a wide range of social causes has proved crucial to their success. From promoting child health to combating iodine deficiency, from campaigning against disease to increasing access to education, programmes supported by His Majesty impact the every day lives of millions of his subjects.

At the same time, His Majesty’s visionary thinking has helped shape the global development dialogue.

His Majesty’s “Sufficiency Economy” philosophy -- emphasizing moderation, responsible consumption, and resilience to external shocks -- is of great relevance to communities everywhere during these times of rapid globalization. The philosophy’s “middle path” approach strongly reinforces the United Nations’ own advocacy of a people-centred and sustainable path towards human development.

His Majesty’s development agenda and visionary thinking are an inspiration to his subjects, and to people everywhere.

With today’s Award, we hope to further promote the ideas and experiences of His Majesty’s work, and to help draw attention to their underlying thinking well beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Thailand.

For His Majesty’s extraordinary achievements and deep and unwavering commitment to human development, this afternoon it will be my great honour to present to His Majesty the UNDP’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.