Thousands of Thais Pay Homage : Last Queen of Siam Cremated in Elaborate Ceremony

To the blare of trumpets and the chants of monks, Thailand paid homage today to Queen Rambhai Barni in an elaborate $1-million royal funeral that ended with the cremation of her body nearly one year after she died.

In accordance with religious custom, the cremation was scheduled on a date determined by religious soothsayers who consulted the stars and magic numbers.

An ornate 40-ton funeral carriage, considered one of Thailand’s most beautiful works of art, was pulled along the procession route by 400 men in 97-degree heat while cannons boomed out salutes.

The procession took the queen’s body, in a huge gilded royal urn containing her casket, to a specially built crematory near the Grand Palace. After performing religious rites, King Bhumibol Adulyadej applied the sacred fire to the pyre.

At that moment, conches, trumpets, flutes and drums sounded while a single guard of honor played a dirge. The royal anthem also was played, accompanied by gun salutes by scores of soldiers.

Dozens of Buddhist monks chanted and read ancient scriptures.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out at the parade ground near the royal palace complex to watch the colorful and ancient funeral rituals of Thailand’s ruling Chakri dynasty.

Queen Rambhai died of a heart attack last May 22 at the age of 79. Her body was preserved for the funeral.

The queen’s husband, King Rama VII, ruled in 1932 when a coup changed the nation, then known as Siam, from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy.

The king accepted the change to avoid bloodshed but two years later left the country for self-imposed exile in England, where he abdicated the throne in 1935. He died there in 1941.

Queen Rambhai remained in England until 1949, when she returned to Thailand. She was known for her many charitable works, her good humor and her devotion to golf.