It’s a good thing football-crazy Thailand has the World Cup to cushion what could have been a nasty post-party depression following a week of heady celebrations for His Majesty the King’s 60th anniversary on the throne.
Until Tuesday, we had scads of foreign royalty traipsing around the country, either putting on a glittering show at the palace in Bangkok or buying flip-flops a little markets in Chiang Mai up north.

I’m taking a legal risk posting these photos here, because nothing is supposed to appear above His Majesty’s head. I’m just hoping that if anyone does see this, they’ll appreciate that I’m just showing my admiration for him and, since this is a scrolling blog, I can’t do much about what ends up above.

The photo at the top, from AFP, shows the gala group photo being arranged in the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall. Their Majesties the King and Queen are flanked by the monarchs of 25 countries, all on hand to pay tribute to the world’s longest reign. Click on the picture to see it giant-size and you can see Monaco’s Prince Albert, the Sultan of Brunei, the King of Lesotho and the Emperor and Empress of Japan in the crowd. What a bash.

The above AFP shot shows Princess Consort Lalla Salma, the wife of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, being welcomed by Their Majesties as their children wait, from left, Princess Ubolratana and Their Royal Highnesses Princess Chulabhorn, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Here His Majesty has a word with Britain’s Prince Andrew, who was representing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

And this is a heartwarming sequence from AP as His Majesty prepared to address a huge crowd from the palace balcony. That’s his daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, snapping pictures over his shoulder, at least until the Queen seems to step in from behind and call a halt to it.

This is the King’s eldest daughter, Princess Ubolratana, getting her kids ready for the swarms of waiting admirers.

The capital, naturally, was done up in its swellest finery, with traditional arches like the one above strung along Rajdamnoen Avenue, recalling past glory days, as in 1907 when the Kingdom welcomed the great Chulalongkorn – King Rama V – home from a European trip with monuments like this tremendous pachyderm archway.

Below, however, is one of my all-time favourite pictures of the current monarch, King Bhumipol Adulyadej, taken a few years ago. He’s seen tying his shoelaces, which considering his stature after an amazing 60 years, is quite a humbling sight for us all.