Bhutan's beloved "Dragon King" marries his commoner bride

[jimmy olsen]

Cool imagery. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44885097/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#.TpamrnK8g-o

Butan's 'Dragon King' marries his commoner bride
Wedding in 17th-century Buddhist monastery captivates Himalayan nation

PUNAKHA, Bhutan — Bhutan's beloved "Dragon King" married his commoner bride Thursday in an ancient Buddhist ceremony at the tiny Himalayan nation's most sacred monastery fortress.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, wearing the raven crown, came down from his golden throne in front of a huge statue of Buddha to place a smaller, silk brocade crown upon the head of his bride, Jetsun Pema.

Monks chanted in celebration as she took her seat beside him as the new queen of the country.

In a nation of 700,000 people where television was only introduced in 1999, the ceremony was broadcast live. Thousands of people, dressed in traditional colored robes, stood outside.

The wedding has captivated the nation, which had grown impatient with their 31-year-old bachelor king's lack of urgency to find a bride and start a family of his own since his father retired and handed power to him five years ago.

Children composed poems, flight attendants practiced celebratory dances and posters of the couple were nearly ubiquitous.

'A special feeling'
The celebrations began at 8:20 a.m. local time Thursday (10:20 p.m. ET Wednesday) — a time set by royal astrologers — when the king, wearing the royal yellow sash, walked into the courtyard of the 17th-century monastery in the old capital of Punakha and proceeded up the high staircase inside.

A few minutes later, his 21-year-old bride arrived at the end of a procession of red-robed monks and flag bearers across a wooden footbridge over the wide, blue river beside the fort.

The king's father, accompanied by his four wives, handed blessed, colored scarves to a nervous-looking bride.

"I am a very happy man today," said Kesang Chopel, 41, a Buddhist saffron-robed monk who watched the couple's arrival in Bhutan's former ancient capital. "There is the king, and there are so many masters here, lamas. There is a special feeling."

"The biggest consideration when choosing the queen was that the queen did not get in the way of him and his people," said one source close to the king.

Bhutan, known as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" has been happy to promote a Shangri-la image with its snow-capped peaks and largely untouched forests. People must still wear the traditional knee-length robes in public.

Bhutan is famed for its "Gross National Happiness" index, an alternative to GDP that measures personal well-being and the environment rather than focusing on economic growth.

It has been reluctant to open up to the rest of the world.

Tourism was only allowed in the 1970s, and when the first car arrived in the 1950s many people thought it was a fire-eating dragon. The capital's attempts to have traffic lights were thwarted by residents complaining they were "unsightly."

Teenage pin-up
The 31-year-old monarch is known as the "people's king" for his relaxed manner with his subjects, and — sporting sideburns and swept-back hair — he is a pin-up for many teenage girls as far away as Thailand.

But Bhutan's fifth king, affectionately known as K5, also provides the checks and balances on an unsure democracy where political parties did not exist four years ago.

"The royal wedding has ensured the continuity of the monarchy," said Tshering Tobgay, Bhutan's opposition leader. "And monarchy has helped strengthen our democracy."

A successful monarchy may be key to bringing stability to a kingdom that sits amid a region racked by civil conflict and war. Neighboring Nepal's monarch was recently abolished.
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Wangchuck is not expected to follow the example of his father, who married four sisters from a wealthy family. Polygamy is allowed in Bhutan, but it is rare.

"While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart," Wangchuck said on an announcing his marriage to parliament. "These qualities together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience will make her a great servant to the nation."

The new king, a keen basketball player and archer, has jettisoned that reclusive and elitist image. He lives in a cottage in Thimphu, and often invites his subjects for tea.

He has spent months touring Bhutan's remote villages — often walking among villagers holding his bride-to-be by the hand.

But while an older generation will bow and refuse to look their king in the eye, a younger generation is happy to converse with their monarch.

"He is doing everything his father never did. He is meeting everyone, from taxi drivers to housewives," said Tashi Dorji, editor of Business Bhutan, a privately owned newspaper that has spearheaded probes into the government. "He is beyond reproach."

His Oxford University education has helped him develop a broader outlook that underscores how Bhutan is aware it must reach out to the world for investment to appease its growing urban and young population eager for jobs and the trappings of 21st-century life.

The king has other powers that make him popular. He can grant scarce farming land in a country where farmers that make up two thirds of the population, and he helps run disaster prevention.

[The Brain]

Monks at a wedding. The irony.

[Josquius]

Lets just hope they can hang on, republicanism sucks. I'm looking at you Nepal!

[Valmy]

It's good to be the King.

[Grey Fox]

It's good to be the Queen too.

[garbon]

Just found out that the professor that I had all freshman year resigned this year as the director of the royal education council for health reasons.

http://www.businessbhutan.bt/?p=6455

[derspiess]

It's good to be the King.

[Martinus]

He doesn't look like a total jerk, but alas he will have to lay his neck beneath the guillotine blade of progress. 

[The Minsky Moment]

It's good to be the King.

Apparently royal power in Bhutan extends to the right to raid Hugh Hefner's wardrobe.

[Grey Fox]

He doesn't look like a total jerk, but alas he will have to lay his neck beneath the guillotine blade of progress. 

Nah, it's Bhutan. He'll just retire like his father did.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Lets just hope they can hang on, republicanism sucks. I'm looking at you Nepal!

They tried to step down and become a democracy, but the people refused.
Seriously.

[Scipio]

Holy crap, themmersome cheekbones!

[Valmy]

Lets just hope they can hang on, republicanism sucks. I'm looking at you Nepal!

They tried to step down and become a democracy, but the people refused.
Seriously.

It happens in some of those smaller countries.  Didn't Liechtenstein vote it's prince more powers?

[HisMajestyBOB]

Lets just hope they can hang on, republicanism sucks. I'm looking at you Nepal!

They tried to step down and become a democracy, but the people refused.
Seriously.

It happens in some of those smaller countries.  Didn't Liechtenstein vote it's prince more powers?

Yeah, but I think the prince wanted more powers there.
In Bhutan, the King wanted his country to be a democracy, but the people all voted to keep the monarchy

[Drakken]

It happens in some of those smaller countries.  Didn't Liechtenstein vote it's prince more powers?

Prince Hans-Adam blackmailed to abdicate and exile himself with his whole family to Austria if the people didn't vote in favour of giving him more power. They folded.