Today marks the day Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascended to the throne upon his brother’s death in 1946. With his death marking the end of the world’s longest reigning monarch, the seventy years of his reign have been marked with both controversy and esteem.
Bhumibol’s reign saw Thailand’s monarchy survive tumultuous decades of conflict and war in the greater Mekong region. Through socialist revolutions nearby and coups at home and abroad, Bhumibol’s reign was a constant throughout.