The grandeur of a royal barge graced the Chao Phraya River on Tuesday as the navy went through a dress rehearsal of part of the coronation ceremony for His Majesty the King this Saturday.
Sixty-four naval officers, mostly oarsmen, took part in the rehearsal, which started at 10am. They rowed the Suphannahong Royal Barge, decorated with full regalia, from the Naval Dockyard on the Thon Buri side of the river, 4.5 kilometres to the Ratcha Woradit pier, next to the Grand Palace on the other bank.
The 44.90-metre-long, century-old royal barge will be rowed to the Grand Palace on Saturday and moored there until May 6, during the coronation period, in honour of His Majesty the King.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced on Tuesday that the floral decorations along Ratchadamnoen Avenue would be completed on Wednesday. About 1.76 million pots of flowering plants, mainly, yellow and white, are being used.