Cremation ceremony for late Thai king begins

Hundreds of thousands of Thais dressed all in black took to the streets of Bangkok to pay their last respects to the late monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Crowds of mourners followed a chariot carrying a symbolic funeral urn representing Bhumibol’s remains to the cremation site, with buildings along the route draped in yellow marigold. Thailand has been in mourning since the king’s death on October 13, 2016. A five-day funeral ceremony officially started on Wednesday with Buddhist merit-making rites, performed by the current king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, Bhumibol’s son. The late king will be cremated later on Thursday in a royal pyre lit by his son.