THIMPHU, Bhutan — Tradition in this Buddhist Himalayan kingdom says that subjects pay homage to a new king by lining up with the gift of a white scarf. Their new monarch, however, added his own offering.
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, a Western-educated bachelor with the good looks of a young Elvis and an easy charm, came down from his throne to his people after a ceremony Thursday that saw him become Bhutan’s first king since its transformation to democracy.
Moving through some 20,000 Bhutanese near the Tashichho Dzong, a 17th-century white-walled fortress where the coronation was held, the king bent low to take the scarves and, in return, handed out coronation coins.
The public greeting followed the coronation, an elaborate display of pageantry and ancient Buddhist rites that saw King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, 52, the much-loved monarch, formalize his abdication and place the Raven Crown on the head of his son, 28.
The ceremony was the last step in a process that saw the elder Wangchuck reform the isolated Himalayan nation from a closed-off absolute monarchy to a democracy with his heir at the helm.
The new king will serve as head of state, but one that can be impeached by a Parliament chosen in the country’s first democratic elections in March.
