Celebrations begin as Bhutan king to marry commoner

By Siddhartha Kumar Oct 11, 2011, 10:55 GMT

Thimphu - School children and cultural troupes rehearse dance and music performances as people throng stores to buy fancy clothes, as the excitement grows ahead of the royal wedding in the remote Himalayan country of Bhutan.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck - an Oxford-educated, 31-year-old who was considered the most-eligible bachelor in South Asia - is to marry 21-year-old-commoner Jetsun Pema on Thursday.

Jigme Khesar was crowned Bhutan's fifth king in 2008, becoming the world's youngest head of state. Pema is a graduate of London's Regents College, and has been described as passionate about fine arts. The king announced his marriage plans in an address to parliament in May.

While the monarch said his wedding would be a simple ceremony, Bhutanese are gearing up with enthusiasm for the special occasion in the tiny Buddhist country that is landlocked between Asian giants China and India.

In the capital Thimphu, about 150 school children practice dances at the Loselling government school to the beats of a patriotic song.

'We are anxious to put in our best performance,' says Ugyen Rabgye, a 14-year-old student. 'Many of the students had never danced, but have trained hard for the past month,' he said, adding that the sessions stretch for upto three hours every day.

The Royal Academy of Performing Arts was also practicing mask dances and cultural shows in the city. The performances will be part of public celebrations at the main Changlimithang Stadium on Saturday, to be attended by tens of thousands of people.

The markets in Thimphu are abuzz with people buying traditional clothes and shoes as the Bhutanese plan to turn out in their finest during the celebrations.

Thimphu, too, wears a festive look and is being beautified and cleaned, its mayor Kinley Dorji said. Majestic gates with colourful Buddhist symbols have been erected while huge photographs of the royal couple and national flags are placed at key intersections.

'There is so much joy and excitement across Bhutan about the once-in-a-lifetime event in our lives,' says Tshering Wangmo, a government spokeswoman.

The main wedding ceremony is to be held in the fortress and monastery in the ancient capital of Punakha on Thursday. It would be a sacred ceremony for the Bhutanese, Wangmo said, adding it will not be an ostentatious event associated with the pomp of other royal weddings.

'There is clearly an emphasis on our cultural and religious aspects. Performers have come from remote corners of the country to showcase their culture. Thousands of monks from the Central Monastic Body and those in the districts have been conducting prayers over month,' says Needrup Zangpo, editor of the Bhutan Observer daily.

Bhutan, whose local name Druk Yul means 'land of thunder dragon,' spans 47,000 kilometres and has 700,000 inhabitants. The mountain kingdom remained largely isolated from the international community until its formal admission to the United Nations in 1971.