BANGKOK — King Bhumibol Adulyadej, an obscure princeling born afar who became patriarch of Thailand, died Thursday in Bangkok at 88, ending his unprecedented reign of 70 years.
Years of poor health during which His Majesty was mostly confined to Siriraj Hospital, away from the eyes of a public which kept looking for him to be a unifying figure in his riven kingdom, ended at 3:52pm, according to a statement by the Royal Household Bureau. It did not specify a cause of death.