Near the end, many Thais flocked to his hospital to pray and pay their last respects. They shed many tears when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha announced the King's passing. Thais knew this day would come, but they wanted to delay it as long as possible.
The Thais' treatment of their collective "father" can seem like god worship, characteristic of born-again evangelicals, or the type of manufactured adulation common in North Korea.