THIMPHU, Bhutan - Fireworks lit up the sky over Bhutan's capital city of Thimphu on the night of October 16 as the country marked the end of three-days of colorful celebration for a royal wedding.
While the tiny nation is home to just about 700,000 people, the wedding of 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuckto to 21-year-old commoner Jetsun Pema drew tens of thousands to Thimphu, with some Bhutanese walking up to six days to reach the venue.
While the tiny nation is home to just about 700,000 people, the wedding of 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuckto to 21-year-old commoner Jetsun Pema drew tens of thousands to Thimphu, with some Bhutanese walking up to six days to reach the venue.
In a little over 100 years of monarchy in the landlocked nation, stuck between India and China, this was the first royal wedding that was truly public. When the king's father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, married four sisters in 1979 - the country's rare form of polygamy is intended to keep property in one family - Bhutan had no television or Internet, and many parts of the nation were not connected by road. Television and the Internet were introduced as late as 1999, and most Bhutanese learned about that marriage through an announcement in the country's state-owned national daily, Kuensel.
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