King Bhumipol Adulyadej
Bhumipol Adulyadej (pronounced: Boomipon Adun Yadet) was born December 5, 1928 in Cambridge, Massachesetts, where his father was studying Public Health at Harvard. He returned to Bangkok briefly, but in 1933 his mother took him and his younger brother to Switzerland where they stayed until the end of the Second World War. Bhumipol ascended the throne, following the death of his brother, on June 9, 1946. This makes King Bhumipol the world’s longest reigning current monarch. He returned to Switzerland to complete his studies, leaving an uncle to act as regent in his absence. It was in Switzerland that he met and married his wife Queen Sirikit. Following this he returned to Thailand where the official coronation ceremony took place on May 5, 1950. He is thus the world’s longest serving head of state. This date is celebrated every year in Thailand as Coronation Day, a public holiday.