Five-day funeral of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej begins year after death

The five-day funeral of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is being held in Thailand a year after his death.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners are lining the streets to see the golden chariot carrying the royal urn brought through Bangkok.

Priests, drummers and soldiers donned ceremonial uniforms for the solemn procession, bringing flashes of colour to the mourners' black.

A $90m (£68m) cremation site has been purpose built for the king's funeral.

His son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, will light the golden pyre at 10am (3pm GMT) as his father is laid to rest.

The public will be able to say goodbye to their king, crowned in 1950, in the lavish ceremony. For millions of Thai people, he is the only monarch they have ever known.

Three processions took place, including the royal family and members of the military who accompanied the urn in a royal chariot from the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall to the newly built crematorium.

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The urn was placed under a nine-tiered white umbrella as it made its way through and was hoisted into the crematorium's main chamber while monks chanted, traditional instruments played and artillery fired in the distance.

Wacharadej Tangboonlabkun, 65, said: "He was perfect. He helped the country and Thai people so much. Seventy million Thai people are united in their love for him."

Boonjerd Buasawat, a 61-year-old fruit vendor from the resort island of Phuket, had been waiting near the cremation site since midday on Wednesday and slept there overnight.

"I want to be here together with a group of people who dearly love their king," he said. "Our love won't die until we too pass and follow him."

The new king, who wore full military regalia as he joined the procession, will be crowned after his father is laid to rest. He is yet to secure the same level of affection among the Thai public, where deference to the monarchy is a given.

Thailand's royal defamation law shields the monarchy from criticism and scrutiny, carrying 15-year jail sentences for each charge.

Thais have donned black for much of the last year in a remarkable outpouring of grief, which officially ends on October 30.

After the mourning period, they will return to colourful clothes, celebrating the king's ascent to Mount Meru, which is regarded as the centre of the universe in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cosmology.