The Royal Barge Procession 2011 in Bangkok

Royal Thai Navy will be organizing a Royal Barge Procession on 22 October 2011 to commemorate the auspicious occasion of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 84th birthday anniversary.

The event is to mark the visit of His Majesty the King and members of the royal family to a royal temple to present offerings of saffron robes to the monks.

The Royal Thai Navy will conduct a total of eight rehearsals between August 26 through to October 7. Two full dress rehearsals are currently scheduled for October 13 and 18, prior to the actual Royal Kathin Barge Procession on October 22.

The water-borne royal procession on October 22 will consist of a flotilla of 52 traditional-style barges arranged in five columns, based on a battle formation from ancient times. This is made up of four major royal barges namely, Suphannahong, Narai Song Suban, Anantanagaraj, and Anekchatbhuchong, eight barges with animal figureheads, and 40 smaller ceremonial barges. A total of 2,098 navy officers from various units within the Royal Thai Navy will serve as oarsmen.

The royal barges of Thailand are the last of their kind in the world. The last time that a royal barge procession was organized was on 12 June 2006 for the diamond jubilee celebrations to mark the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne.