Thais Mourn Death Of King

The people of Thailand are mourning the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, who died on Thursday aged 88.

An emotional crowd held a late-night vigil in Bangkok, and black-clad crowds are now returning to the streets.

The king’s body will be taken to the city’s Emerald Temple later on Friday. The official mourning will last a year.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is expected be the new monarch, but has asked for a delay in succession.

The cabinet has declared Friday a government holiday, and flags are to fly at half-mast for the next 30 days.

The government has also asked for people to wear black, and avoid “joyful events” during this period.

News websites have turned their pages black and white, while tributes have been paid by leaders around the world.

One person in Bangkok told the Associated Press: “There is no word to explain my feeling right now.”

“I lost one of the most important people in my life. I feel like I haven’t done enough for him. I should have done more,” said Gaewkarn Fuangtong.

Thousands of mourners are expected to line the streets of Bangkok on Friday afternoon when the king’s body is moved from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace.

The Crown Prince will conduct the bathing ceremony of the king’s body – a traditional Thai Buddhist funeral rite – on Friday evening, said palace officials.

King Bhumibol was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and coups.

He was widely respected across Thailand, and thought of by many as semi-divine.

He had been ill for a long time. When news of his death was announced on Thursday evening, many in the large crowds outside the hospital where he died broke down.

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Bangkok says the king was a national father figure, a beacon of stability in a divided and worried country. A more uncertain era has begun, he adds.