Thailand has bid farewell to its late king, Bhumipol Adulyadej. His ashes and bones have been returned to the Grand Palace and placed in the Emerald Buddha temple, the most sacred of its kind in the kingdom. The five-day funeral ceremony, which centered around the royal cremation, was for a man the country knew as "the king of kings". CGTN's Martin Lowe has more now from the Thai capital.

 

It was a spectacle which exceeded expectations, the lavish funeral and cremation ceremonies for Thailand's late king, Bhumipol Adulyadej. People had come to witness the event from all corners of the kingdom. From the hills of Chiang Mai in the north, to the island of Phuket in the south. Some had waited days before they could take a place alongside the royal cremation ground built by artists and craftsmen in the shadow of the Grand Palace. Others could not get inside and paid tribute at replica sites, both in the capital Bangkok, and around the country. But for all, memories of the funeral will stay with them forever.

 

DEJ PHOOMKACHA MOURNER "Our children will talk about this day for a hundred years, this was history being made.”

 

PRIMCHID CHERAPHAK MOURNER "This was a good king. In all the reincarnations of my life I will be his servant forever."

 

WANNAPHA PHUDSIWAN MOURNER "I will follow the king's words, I will be a good person."

 

Marked by a series of military salutes, the cremation itself took place late into the night on a funeral pyre at the heart of a ceremonial complex. As dawn broke, the king's ashes were collected to be transported back to the palace for blessing, before being enshrined at two royal temples. King Bhumipol had ruled Thailand for 70 years, before his death at the age of 88, in October 2016.

 

MARTIN LOWE ROYAL CREMATION GROUND, BANGKOK "Matters of state here are proceeding at a measured and dignified pace. After the king died there was a full year of mourning. Now that his cremation has taken place there will be a further period of reflection, before the coronation of his successor."

 

That is Bhumipol's son, Maha Vajiralongkorn – who will reign as King Rama the 10th, the tenth king of Thailand's royal Chakri dynasty. The late king had been conferred with the title "Bhumipol the Great", for his work for his people. To them he was "the king of kings" and he will live on in their hearts always. Martin Lowe, CGTN Bangkok.