Royal barge procession completes King's coronation

The Royal Barge Suphannahong, carrying Their Majesties the King and the Queen, and His Royal Highness Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, graces the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
The Royal Barge Suphannahong, carrying Their Majesties the King and the Queen, and His Royal Highness Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, graces the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

A spectacular royal barge procession on the Chao Phraya River for His Majesty the King marked the completion of the royal coronation ceremony on Thursday.

His Majesty the King, accompanied by Her Majesty the Queen, started the procession at Wasukri pier. They disembarked at Ratchaworadit pier and proceeded to the Grand Palace.

Their Majesties travelled on the Suphannahong, considered the most beautiful barge

The procession involved 52 ceremonial barges with 2,200 oarsmen, and travelled for 3.4 kilometres. Yellow-clad spectrators crowded the banks of the Chao Phraya River hours before the event began in a show of loyalty to the King and Queen.

The procession of barges was about 1,200 metres long, and 90 metres in width.

Monks at six temples along the river began chanting ceremonies for Their Majesties as the procession approached them.

Officials estimated 10,700 spectators flocked to six official viewing locations on the river banks, and millions more watched the live broadcast of the ceremony at home and abroad.

Well-wishers also converged outside the Grand Palace, hoping to get a glimpse of Their Majesties after they alighted at Ratchawordit pier.

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Vocabulary

  • alight: to get out of an aircraft or vehicle - ลงจากพาหนะ
  • barge (noun): a long flat boat usually used on rivers and in ports - เรือท้องแบน, เรือบรรทุกลำเลียงขนส่ง
  • ceremonial (adj): relating to or used in a ceremony - เกี่ยวกับพิธี
  • chant: to sing a piece of religious music using a very limited range of notes - ร้องเพลงสวด
  • converge: to come from different directions to reach the same point - ไปยังจุดหมายเดียวกัน
  • disembark: to leave a vehicle, especially a ship or an aircraft, at the end of a journey - ออกจากพาหนะ
  • flock: to go somewhere in large numbers; to gather together in large numbers - แห่กันไป
  • glimpse (noun): when you see something or someone for a very short time - การเหลือบดู, การชำเลือง, การชายตามอง
  • loyalty: support that you always give to someone or something because of your feelings of duty and love towards them - ความจงรักภักดี
  • oarsmen: men who row boats -
  • proceed: to move or travel in a particular direction - เดินทางไปยัง
  • procession: a line of people or vehicles moving in a slow and formal way as part of an event - ขบวน(ราช) รถในพิธี
  • well-wisher: a person who expresses their good wishes or sympathy, often to someone who they do not know - ผู้ปรารถนาดีต่อผู้อื่น

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