Mourners flocking to palace to pay respects to late king

BANGKOK, Oct 24 (TNA) – Thai mourners continued to flow to the Grand Palace in Bangkok to pay their final respects and sign condolence books for His Majesty late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. A strong number of Thais have been seen lining up outside the Grand Palace in the hope of paying homage in front of the portrait of HM the King at the Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion since it opened its doors at 8.00 a.m. today, a half an hour ahead of the original schedule. The mourners reportedly started queuing as early as 4 a.m. in the morning. Today is the public holiday in Thailand, so the number of mourners visiting the palace is expected to be higher than normal days. Officials are set to distribute 100,000 queuing tickets to the mourners today, while the mourners are allowed to enter the pavilion in groups of 100 at a time. Security has been tightened to ensure safety. In a related development, the Bureau of the Royal Household announced that the public will be allowed to pay their respects before the royal golden urn of HM King Bhumibol inside the Grand Palace’s Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall from Oct 29 at 9.00-16.00 hrs, instead of the afternoon of Oct 28 as earlier announced. (TNA)