King Bhumibol took the throne in June 1946, but returned to Switzerland to finish his studies.
In 1948 he crashed his car into a truck in Lausanne, and lost the sight of his right eye. On a trip to Paris he met his future wife Sirikit Kitiyakara, the daughter of Thailand's Ambassador in France. Although the relationship did not begin smoothly.
"It was hate at first sight on my side," she told the BBC.
"Because he said he would arrive at [4:00pm]. He arrived at 7:00pm, kept me standing there, practising curtsey and curtsey. So it was hate at first sight.