Tag: King

4th International Conference on Gross National Happiness (GNH) begins!

November 25: The 4th International Conference on Gross National Happiness began in the capital yesterday. More than 90 participants from 25 countries are participating in the three day conference. The Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley graced the opening of the conference.

Addressing the participants at the opening, the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley said the conference is taking place at a time when Bhutan is celebrating three significant events; the centenary celebration of the monarchy, the coronation of His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the successful institution of parliamentary democracy in the country. Continue reading 4th International Conference on Gross National Happiness (GNH) begins!

Bhutan and the Art of Happiness!

Nov 13th 2008 | THIMPHU: In the mountainous forests above the Thimpu valley, the end-point of a five-day, guided trek through Bhutan for rich foreign tourists, lies the only big construction site in the capital of the isolated Himalayan country. The world’s youngest democracy is building houses for its parliamentarians. The former king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, shocked his people in late 2006 by stepping down, decreeing the establishment of democracy and handing over to his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. Most Bhutanese would have preferred to preserve royal rule, but loyally obeyed the king’s order to rule themselves. Continue reading Bhutan and the Art of Happiness!

Bhutan Crowns a New King!

The Boston Globe: The United States was not the only country to name a new leader this week. In Bhutan, an insular nation of about 600,000 people located high in the Himalayas, a new king was crowned. 28-year-old Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, an Oxford-educated bachelor, was crowned as Bhutan’s fifth king – now the world’s youngest reigning monarch. Bhutan also has the distinction of being the world’s youngest democracy – having held parliamentary elections last March for the first time ever. The young ruler vows to maintain a stance of protection against the worst aspects of globalization, maintaining the “Gross National Happiness”, a measurement of national progress that places a high value on spiritual development. Gross National Happiness is a term invented by, and proudly embraced by Bhutanese since 1972. (22 photos total)
Bhutan’s fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (right) crowns his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck as the fifth King of Bhutan, in the Throne room of the Tashichhodzong Palace during the coronation ceremony in Thimphu, Bhutan on November 6, 2008. With medieval tradition and Buddhist spirituality, a 28-year-old with an Oxford education assumed the Raven Crown of Bhutan on Thursday, to guide the world’s newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world. (REUTERS/Royal Government of Bhutan/Handout)
Source: The Boston Globe

Bhutan’s Dragon King shows he is man of the people!

Bhutan's Dragon King shows he is man of the peopleTHIMPHU: He was supposed to look on regally from on high as warriors, monks and masked dancers celebrated his coronation, but Bhutan’s new Dragon King instead showed royal star quality by descending to mingle with the crowds on Friday.

The 28-year-old Oxford educated Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who assumed the Raven Crown on Thursday, spent most of the afternoon among the 20,000 spectators, chatting, joking, and greeting old friends, ordinary people, and tourists.

“He is very gracious and he has amazing charisma,” said 36-year-old Patty Wu from San Francisco, after the king stopped to jokingly enquire if her friends were wearing suncream, and to talk about California. Continue reading Bhutan’s Dragon King shows he is man of the people!

Bhutan Celebrates Coronation of Young New King

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THIMPHU, Bhutan (AP) — Tradition in this Buddhist Himalayan kingdom says that the people pay homage to a new king by lining up with the gift of a white scarf. Their new monarch, however, was having none of it.

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. Continue reading Bhutan Celebrates Coronation of Young New King