Hundreds of thousands of mourners have gathered in Bangkok for the royal cremation.
ADVERTISEMENTThailand is paying its last respects to the late king with a five-day funeral ceremony.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely adored in the country, died in October 2016.
Thursday’s events began with ancient Buddhist rites in Bangkok’s Grand Palace attended by the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The plan was then for a series of processions to pull the royal urn, symbolising the monarch’s remains, on an 18th Century golden chariot to the Royal Crematorium.
Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black lined the route. It is only two kilometres long but the journey was scheduled to take at least three hours.
Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for the occasion, many coming from other parts of Thailand.
King Bhumibol, who was 88 when he died, reigned for 70 years.
He played a central role in maintaining stability during years of political upheaval and rapid development.