Royal celebrants

See "King to receive royal guests," front section, page 1

Photo: On Friday His Majesty the King gives his speech to the nation, accompanied by Her Majesty the Queen.

This story mainly details the schedule of events to be held today and tomorrow in the grand celebrations of His Majesty the King's Diamond Jubilee. You will also find out the countries where the royal celebrants come from and some of the tourist-type activities they have been enjoying since their arrival. Finally, there is a brief mention of Friday's celebrations in which hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais gathered outside the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall and heard the King give a short speech to the nation.

    Over the next two days and more, you are going to be seeing several variations of the word celebrate. There is the noun celebration, of course. Then there is celebrants for the people who are celebrating and in this story, we also see the adjective form celebratory.

Quick, which form would you put in each of the following blanks?:

1. All the __________ stood while the King made his speech.

2. The ______________ will continue for the next two days.

3. The Sultan of Brunei is scheduled to make the ___________ speech.

4. On Friday, millions of Thais _____________ the Diamond Jubilee in festivities that were held all over the country.

    After you have read and understood the story, go back and look at the verb forms used. Most of the story refers to the future, but there are also several references to the past. Watch how the verb forms change tomorrow after the events described today have taken place.

You can hear the first part of the story by clicking here.

King to receive royal guests

Royal Barge Procession today, before state banquet tomorrow

POST REPORTERS

The painstaking preparations for the grand celebration of His Majesty the King's Diamond Jubilee culminate today as heads of state and royalty from 25 countries assemble in Bangkok to honour the world's longest reigning monarch. History will be made in the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall for the second time in four days when the King presides over the ceremony to receive the royal guests coming to attend the grand events marking the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne.

On Friday, several hundred thousand people gathered outside the Throne Hall and millions more watched on TV, paying their respects as the King, with Her Majesty the Queen at his side, appeared on the balcony to deliver a speech to the nation marking his 60th year as monarch.

Seeing the sea of well-wishers in yellow, the King said in his message that he was overwhelmed and the gathering gave him strength.

celebrants – people who attend a celebration
Diamond Jubilee – a sixty-year anniversary (a fifty-year anniversary is a Golden Jubilee)
banquet – a grand formal dinner
painstaking – done very carefully and thoroughly
culminate – to happen at the end of a series of events
reigning – ruling
monarch – a king, queen, emperor or empress
throne – the special decorative chair used by a monarch on special occasions
accession to the throne – the process of formally becoming the ruling monarch
balcony – the platform on the outside of a building about ground level, with a wall or railing around it (see photo).
overwhelmed – affected very strongly

You can hear the second part of the story by clicking here.

Tomorrow Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei will represent the royal dignitaries visiting the kingdom in delivering a celebratory message to the King at the state banquet to be held at the Borommaratchasathit Maholan Throne Hall, which is the extended part of the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall.

The banquet will be hosted by the King and Queen.

After the royal reception this afternoon, the King will lead the visitors to watch the 40-minute procession of 52 royal barges, highlighted by the stately Suphannahongsa, along the Chao Phraya river, at the Royal Thai Navy Institute building. The Royal Barge Procession starts at 5.30pm.

The guests then will see an exhibition in honour of the King's work at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall. The presentation on the King and the Development of Thailand has four themes — land, water, forest and people. These are the four elements emphasised by the King in his development efforts and through his royally-initiated projects across the country, an official preparing the event said.

dignitaries – people who have important official positions
hosted – organised and event by inviting the guests, providing for the food, entertainment, etc.
reception – a formal party to celebrate a special event
procession – a line of people, vehicles, boats, etc. that move along slowly, especially as part of a public event
highlighted – displayed or shown as the most interesting or exciting part of an event
stately – impressive, graceful or dignified
initiated – begun; started

You can hear the final part of the story by clicking here.

Britain's Prince Andrew was the first royal guest to arrive, landing in Bangkok on Wednesday. He represents Queen Elizabeth, the world's second-longest reigning monarch, who celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Most of the royal dignitaries arrived in Thailand yesterday, and the rest are due today.

They come from Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Britain, Brunei, Cambodia, Denmark, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga and the United Arab Emirates.

On the eve of today's grand reception, some royal visitors used the opportunity to see a bit of Thailand.

Wearing yellow attire, the colour for the King's celebration, Prince Henrik of Denmark, consort of Queen Margrethe II, took a boat trip along the Chao Phraya river.

Princess Lalla Salma Bennani of Morocco and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg visited Chatuchak market, while in Chiang Mai, Monaco's Prince Albert went to the Royal Project at Huay Hong Krai in Doi Saket district and also visited Wat Doi Suthep, the temple overlooking the northern city.

attire – the clothes you are wearing
consort – the ruling monarch’s wife or husband

Answers to the activity above: 1. celebrants 2. celebrations  3. celebratory  4. celebrated

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