Page 10 - TheCoronationKingRamaX_e3

Prologue

This book is a pictorial collection of the Royal Barge Procession that marks the final ceremony of
the Coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua on 12 December 2019.
Nonetheless, a brief description on the history of the royal barges and the royal barge procession is also provided
so that readers can appreciate the underlying significance of this ancient tradition.

Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand published a book on the Preliminary
and Primary Royal Ceremonies of the Coronation held in April and May 2019. Some pictures from those ceremonies
are included in the first chapter of this book for convenience of reference by readers. For avid fans of Thai culture,
it is recommended that they find time to flip through the pages of both books to fully immerse themselves in
the grand splendour of the Coronation. The publications are accessible as an e-book from the website of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand (www.mfa.go.th).

The content of “The Coronation of King Rama X : The Royal Barge Procession” is based on several sources.
Descriptions of the royal barge procession are abridged from “Royal Barges” published by the Fine Arts Department
in Thai with an English summary. Details of the barges are drawn from publications of the Royal Thai Navy and
the website of the National Museum which are available in English.

The photographs are kindly provided by the Public Relations Department, Department of Local Administration,
Fine Arts Department, Royal Thai Navy and the Thai media, namely Thairath, Prachachat and Krungthep Thurakij
(Bangkok Business). The illustration of the Royal Barge Procession is contributed by the Government Housing Bank.

The English spelling of the transliterated names of the royal barges follows the book “Royal Barges” of
the Fine Arts Department. There are minimal alterations such as “Sua” (tiger), which was changed to “Suea”
according to the prevailing preference in romanisation of that Thai vowel. The non-capitalised word ‘royal barge
procession’ is a generic term for any procession of such kind. The capitalised ‘Royal Barge Procession’ specifically
refers to the Final Royal Ceremonies of the Coronation on 12 December 2019.

Monarchs in the House of Chakri are mentioned by their royal names, not the style of “King Rama” in
sequencing order that some Westerners might be familiar with. When they are referred to for the first time,
their reign is indicated. For instance, “King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910)” is used instead of “King Rama V”.

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