Bhutan's fifth Dragon King weds commoner
Punakha, Bhutan - Bhutan's 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Thursday married his teenage sweetheart Jetsun Pema, who was crowned queen of the Himalayan kingdom.
The royal couple were married inside the monastic fortress called the Palace of Great Happiness in the country's old capital of Punakha. The ancient rituals were administered by Bhutan's chief Buddhist abbot, at an auspicious time determined by astrologers.
Pema, 21, was proclaimed queen after Jigme Khesar placed the crown on her head in front of his golden throne underneath a huge statue of Buddha. Pema sat on her throne beside the king, as monks chanted prayers concluding the royal nuptials lasting almost two hours.
Jigme Khesar became head of state in 2008 after his father abdicated to make way for democracy and handed power to his son as a constitutional monarch.
One of the most eligible royal bachelors, Jigme Khesar, married his sweetheart, to whom he had proposed at a family picnic in national capital Thimphu.
It was "love at the first sight," the fifth Dragon King confessed during a meeting with students some months ago.
Pema, who studied international affairs at London's Regents College, is the daughter of an airline pilot. Bhutan is among the UN's least-developed countries and has remained largely isolated and reclusive.
The country, whose local name Druk Yul means "land of thunder dragon," has 700,000 inhabitants and is situated between India and China.
