The government has announced May 6, the final day of His Majesty the King's three-day coronation, as a special national holiday.

That is the day the King will receive foreign diplomats and greet his people, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday.

A day off for both state and private sectors will ensure all events go smoothly, he said.

The King will pay respects to deities on May 2, followed by a ritual to carry phra suphannabap, a golden sheet with his name inscribed, to a palace on May 3.

The coronation will take place on the morning of May 4, a Saturday, before the King performs a liap phranakhon ceremony, a short trip arranged in a traditional procession in parts of Bangkok, the following day.

Though the most important events are held in this period, preparations for the ceremony will begin from early April and a post-coronation ceremony is also scheduled in May, Gen Prayut said.

The prime minister himself will preside over a ritual to have monks bless water collected from 108 sacred sources across the country, to be held between April 18 and 19 at Wat Suthat Thepphawararam in the capital.