Interested members of the public are invited to view rehearsals for the Royal Barge Procession, which will be specially arranged later this year to celebrate His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua (Rama X)’s sixth-cycle (72nd) birthday, 28 July 2024.

The 10 minor rehearsals and two full-dress rehearsals will take place along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, from the Rama VIII Bridge to Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, situated on the west (Thon Buri) bank of the river.

They will be held at 15.00 hr on the following dates:

Minor rehearsals:

1) 1 August;

2) 8 August;

3) 15 August;

4) 22 August;

5) 3 September;

6) 12 September;

7) 19 September;

8) 26 September;

9) 1 October;

10) 10 October.

Full-dress rehearsals:

1) 15 October;

2) 22 October.

The Royal Barge Procession for the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King’s sixth-cycle birthday is scheduled for 27 October 2024. It will be organized for a royal journey to present kathin robes to Buddhist monks at Wat Arun. It has become a tradition in Thailand to present monks with kathin robes upon the end of the Buddhist Lent. This year the end of the Buddhist Lent is on 17 October. The merit-making of kathin ceremony is performed during the period of four weeks from the end of the Buddhist Lent.

The upcoming Royal Barge Procession will be the second royal barge procession in the present reign. The first one was held on 12 December 2019 to mark the final phase in the Coronation of His Majesty the King.

Today, Thailand is the only country in the world to have a royal barge procession, recognized as part of the country’s cultural heritage. It is a rare spectacle on the Chao Phraya River.