A ceremony was held in Stockholm on Thursday to honour the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej who had received an honorary Swedish knighthood in 1950.
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Sweden says farewell to its honorary knight
Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai
A ceremony was held in Stockholm on Thursday to honour the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who received the Knight of the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim on April 5, 1950.
The order is the highest honour in Sweden. Thousands of black-clad Thais attended the ceremony.
The ceremony, traditionally held when a Knight of the Order dies, took place Thursday in Stockholm while the royal cremation ceremony was being held in Bangkok. The event saw Royal Honour Guard troops take King Bhumibol's coat of arms from Stockholm Palace to the nearby Riddarholmen Church, the burial church of Swedish monarchs, at 11.55am local time.
During the special ceremony, called Serafimerringningen, which ended at 1pm, the church's bells rang constantly. After the ceremony, the late King's coat of arms was kept in the church.
Thousands of Thais living in Sweden attended the event. Some held pictures of the late King, while others held banknotes. Many clutched small Thai flags.
At 11.55am, VIPs including Kiattikhun Chartprasert, the Thai ambassador to Sweden, walked out of the royal palace following the Swedish soldiers carrying King Bhumibol's coat of arms. Mr Kiattikhun led the thousands of Thais in a long procession to Riddarholmen Church, approximately 300 metres from the palace.
In the procession was Piengpen Kanab, 64, originally from Khon Kaen, who came with four other friends from the Swedish city of Motala to attend the ceremony.
"It was the saddest day of my life to learn that my beloved king was no longer here with us," Ms Piengpen said while holding a picture of the late King in her hands and wiping tears from her face.
"I'm an old lady and didn't think I would live to see the day when the king passed away."
"I've been through many sad events in my life but this one is the saddest. I still haven't recovered from the sadness I felt when he died on Oct 13 last year. Wherever he is, I will always remember him."
At the church, VIP guests and 400 Thais witnessed the ceremony. The late King's coat of arms with the image of a garuda and his full name emblazoned on it was placed in front of the guests while members of Sweden's Royal Court performed a traditional ritual before King Bhumibol's coat of arms was hung on a wall alongside those of other knights of the past.
After the ceremony was over, Thais waiting outside were allowed in to view the coat of arms hanging on the wall. Everyone there was overwhelmed by the occasion especially when realising the late King was being honoured by Sweden's monarch.
