Thailand’s Royal Palace announced on Thursday that King Bhumibol Adulyadej died at Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, and people around the world responded with an outpouring of grief.
Hundreds of Thais had gathered by the hospital since Sunday to chant prayers and offer flowers after news spread of the monarch’s deteriorating health. By Wednesday, the palace announced that the 88-year-old leader’s kidneys and liver were not working properly, and his health had “overall not yet stabilized.”
The king—who was the world’s longest reining monarch, having been on the throne for seven decades—is widely revered in Thailand. He will be succeeded by his son and male heir Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, says the country’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has led the country since a 2014 coup. He says Thailand will hold a yearlong grieving period.