Tomorrow is the 82nd birthday of His Holiness Bhumibol Adulyadej, the king of Thailand. Adored by the nation, virtually every office building and business in Thailand has a picture of the king or his wife, Queen Sikrit, hanging prominently for all to see.

The king is also known as Rama IX (in English), and assumed the throne in 1946 after the death of his brother. He was educated in Switzerland where he studied law and political science.

Although he does not participate in the day-to-day activities of the Thai government, he is still very much in the hearts and minds of the people and revered as a shining light in a country that is often maligned with stories of government corruption.

Here are some other things about the king that you may or may not know:

• He is blind in his right eye. (So am I, by the way.)
• He plays the saxophone and loves jazz. (I play guitar and love jazz.)
• He was born in Massachusetts, USA. (So was I.)
• He is protected by Lèse majesté, which in layman’s terms means that you’re not allowed to say bad things about him in public or the media. Being caught will most likely result in time in a Thailand prison, which I have heard is NOT where you want to spend some quality vacation time. Although he himself has said that he doesn’t necessarily approve of Lèse majesté, the government is very strict about its enforcement. (As much as His Majesty and I seem to have in common *cough* I can’t lay claim to this one.)

On the king’s birthday, many (dare I say virtually millions) of Thai people will wear the color yellow, which is considered to be the king’s color. Pink is the color of the queen.

Author Paul Handley wrote a highly controversial biography on the the king called The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej. I have read the book, but at the time knew a lot less about Thailand and the culture for it to have a resounding impact on me either way. Respectfully, I will leave it to you to read and opine about on your own.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!