The Magnificent History Of Bhutan's Royal Family | Asia's Monarchies | Real Royalty

Asia's

monarchies

defy

history

in a modern era of democracy. Worlds of tradition, mystery and ritual that command fascination and respect like never before. Monarchies are symbols of continuity. Living connections to the past that are often loved and hated in equal measure in Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom they call. In the land of the thunder dragon, the past is very much alive in the present and this clash has led to the most monumental change in its

history

. It was a deep shock. The king renounced absolute power and established democracy. It was the last shrewd political move of the kings of

bhutan

the wang chuk dynasty to outsiders

bhutan

looks like a buddhist kingdom but inside there is a different story the story of wangchuk is a story of intrigues, power struggles and political genius bhutan is a small country located in the mountains and valleys of the mighty Himalayas, a country of extraordinary beauty full of myths and legends that apparently has not been touched by the passage of time.

It is known to the few visitors from the outside world as the last shangri-la and to the people of it as the drukkyun land of the thunder dragon, like so many other things in Bhutan. Its name comes from an ancient legend almost a thousand years ago a Tibetan monk came to Bhutan to found a new monastery while laying the last stone he heard a sound that seemed to him to be God's blessing on his work an enormous roar rushed through the valley like the roar of a dragon, a thunder dragon and perhaps this image of a ferocious creature is a clue to the survival of Bhutan, once the Himalayas were covered by a mosaic of small kingdoms, just like Bhutan, one by one, have disappeared, now Bhutan is the only monarchy left in In the region there is a feeling in Bhutan that there has to be something very ironclad, a kind of conclusion about the survival of the nation that cannot, that has to be ruthless if it is necessary, but that there can be no compromise about certain things on which its survival is based.

Even the Wang Chuks, each of the Wang Chuk kings has faced a crisis during his reign, each of them has avoided it with a shrewd political move. The first king, Ugian Wangchuk, founded the new monarchy and united Bhutan after years of inviting the second king, Jigme Wangchuk. He faced a centuries-old rival to his throne and cemented the Wang Chuks as undisputed rulers The third king incorporated Bhutan into the United Nations ensuring its ultimate survival as an independent state The fourth king would prove to be the most far-sighted member of the ruling dynasty Bhutan has always been a game of politics and survival, in which the wang chuks play well and these skills are passed down from father to son as if the monarchy were a

family

business and politics were its currency.

The education of the Wangchuk kings is the formula. No one knows his personal success better than Michael Rutland, a former English teacher recruited to come to Bhutan as tutor to the fourth king in 1971. He is currently retired and living in Bhutan, working as the country's envoy to the United Kingdom. Today he came to visit. the school with a former student and classmate of the fourth king here we are at the uggian wongchuk academy and it was built in 1970 by the then queen of bhutan as a school for the young crown prince who was then 15 years old.

One of them was the crown prince of Bhutan, he totally mixed in with all the other students, I think that time he didn't catch our attention, so we were like a group of 20 people and your majesty, I went to the end, I think Prove that There were no differences, he was already very considerate and very compassionate and very affectionate with us as a friend and as a person. It is a very good education. The kings from a very young age, the future king has been going with his father. Parents all the time are not isolated from his father, they stay with his father and observe how his father treats and makes decisions.

The fourth king, Jigme Singh Wangchuk, made a momentous decision that would change the role of the monarchy. Forever he voluntarily withdrew from absolute rule and handed over democracy to his people and one that his young son, the new king, must now oversee here in Timpu, the capital and seat of politics, these changes are felt most deeply, the People see the wang chuks as both wise. and benevolent rulers who have safely led the country through many changes, it is no wonder that they view democracy with apprehension. It was a deep shock. I think it's fair to say that in the 12 months after the king's announcement, if you had taken a public opinion poll, you would have had a vote of 99.9999 in favor of maintaining the kings' rule.

There remains a feeling that the kings of Bhutan can never be replaced by politicians to be friends. I don't like democracies. I like democracy under monarchs. I have seen in many countries, especially in our neighbors. countries like India there are so many problems happening we are with one nation one people we love our king very much uh we consider him as the second buddha there are two things that unite the people of Bhutan their reverence for kings and their devotion to Buddhism the religious values ​​of Buddhism They can be seen everywhere, from prayer flags to spiritual monuments.

I think Putin is a way of life. It is very difficult to

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ly separate Bhutanese culture from Buddhism, everything in life that Bhutanese believe and do as a way of life is greatly influenced by Buddhist principles and way of thinking. Today there is a total solar eclipse that occurs here only once every 370 years. This makes it a very auspicious day. Religion and superstition come to the fore. Spiritual rituals are carried out. the evil spirits that the Bhutanese believe are eating the sun and of course prayers are said for the nearby

royal

family

at the village elder's house.

The butter lamps are lit like every morning and with special care today in an entire room in the middle of the upper floor. It is set aside as a common shrine in almost all Bhutanese homes and right next to it, in equal prominence, is a room dedicated to kings and this is no coincidence that the Wang Chuks were quick to disguise themselves as a national religion that recognized the power of uniting the concepts of god with the crown the indelible link between religion and monarchy was a key part in the history of Bhutan and the history of kings, but the image of a wise and brilliant dynasty distributing blessings to the people is only one part of the picture like any monarchy there is a dark side their rise to power was at the expense of others because they were not the only rulers who walked these valleys bhutan was once home to priest kings, tibetan princes and exiled monks to understand the Wang Chuk's rise to power. understand the history behind them the

royal

family of bhutan is an enigma the roots of power in this bewildering and mysterious land run deep the monarchy of bhutan is barely a century old but they owe their position to a history of ancient rulers and foreign influences that Dating back more than a century For thousands of years Bhutan's geographical position has played a huge role in its history.

It has become small between India to the south and China and Tibet to the north. It was the exiles and refugees from these neighbors who introduced new ideas that would shape the future of Bhutan. The first and most important of these foreign visitors was a Buddhist tantric master known as Guru Rinpoche, who arrived from India in the year 7478. Legend has it that he flew to Bhutan on the back of a tiger, came here and brought Buddhism to Bhutan. for the first time and So, he is a very significant character. In the image you see of him there, you can recognize that it is Guru Rinpoche, firstly by the headdress, secondly by the small mustache and, thirdly, in his right hand he carries a doji or lightning bolt and in his hand left a The staff with three skulls on Guru Rinpoche established Mahayana Buddhism as the dominant religion of Bhutan.

He has been at the heart of the nation throughout its history. Rinpoche is known as the second Buddha in Bhutan. 800 years later, another foreign refugee fled to Bhutan in 1616. A Naoang Namgao lama arrived in Bhutan seeking refuge from the political crisis in Tibet. He became the spiritual leader of Bhutan after a series of victories over leaders of rival subsects and assumed the title of shapdrong, meaning at whose feet the shabdung may submit. He had been a monk, but he had definite political plans for Bhutan, plans that would lead directly to the rise of the Wang Chuk kings.

Well, the Shadrings, the original Namgael, was obviously a pretty charismatic guy, he came as a refugee from Tibet and set up his rule this shocking Bakargyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism built these huge fort monasteries in each of the main valleys that the zongs that can still be seen today they established an infrastructure and system of government that worked for the country's vast fortified monasteries. strategic points throughout the country through the chapron provided islands of security in a land under constant threat from its neighbors from all sides, although the chapron supervised the network of songs throughout the country, it was the panlop or lord of the jungle who controlled it as both. a military and economic headquarters and one song in particular would become increasingly powerful in the years that followed, setting the stage for the rise of the wang chuks who were destined to become lords of this powerful fortress.

This zong of Trungser is one of the most impressive zongs in Bhutan, it was built in 1650 at the time of the Shadrun and was the means by which all of eastern Bhutan came under the control of the Shabdong, not only were these zhangs politically important , but they were also spinners of money, in addition each one was placed at the head of a vital trade route and where there is trade there are taxes, this great powerful river, the mangdichu, is in a way a key to the economic power of this zong because there was a bridge that crossed that river and you had to cross that only bridge. and then walking down a path that inevitably led you to a dong gate, so there was no way you could pass or sneak in secretly and of course it meant you had to pay your taxes, there was no way to avoid taxes , so this made this zong immensely powerful and rich and it was the power of these chong lords that would soon become a threat to the rule of shadrach to maintain the leadership of the chadron he needed to establish a line of succession his own dynasty as Buddhist who believed that he would be reincarnated again and again, effectively succeeding himself;

It was this Buddhist concept that he believed would provide the answer to maintaining his rule; However, when he died in 1651, his court had a big problem finding the reincarnated guy drunk in his new body. His death was not made public for 50 years or so because of fears of the risks of a conflict over succession. There was a dual system of temporal and spiritual authority, but the question of succession became increasingly contentious in the 19th century. Bhutan was in a condition of almost civil war for many years, the shabdrung leadership in Bhutan continued to weaken, in contrast the lords of the tongs consolidated their own positions and grew in power throughout the 19th century, but were the lords of the two largest chungs.

Those who saw their chants, the lords of the dole in the west and the lords of the trunks are in the east, the wang chuks. It was during this time that the power of the British Empire turned its gaze towards this small kingdom at the beginning of the 20th century. The British feared a Russian threat from the north and they wanted to reach Tibet to establish an Anglo-Tibetan alliance. Organist Wong Chuk, who became the first king of Wong Chuk, acted as an aide, performer and guide for the British when they invaded Tibet or as the expeditionary force that entered Tibet gained the support and favor of the British. very well regarded by the British.

The Anglo-Tibetan convention of 1904 was secured and Ogyeon Wangchuk was knighted for his service to the empire, which further consolidated his power and he was able to end the Chadron system of government and then took control of the civil administration of Bhutan in 1907. An assembly of Buddhist monks and government officials met to establish a new absolute monarchy with Uggy and Wang Chuk as its first hereditary king. It is the wisdom of the people who came together in 1907 and said here is a man who has been tested through his family and through his service, his love for the nation and his bravery to protect the country, so who was elected absolutely, I think he was a consumer diplomat, yes, although he was often barefoot, he was a consumer diplomat and at a big meeting in punakar in 1907, the genja, the contract decree was agreed upon and signed by all the local rulers of Bhutan, so this great trung sazon became the seat of power the focus of power during the beginning of monaco the new king had won his throne thanks to his strength as a political genius but to truly rule his kingdom he needed the devotion of the people, the kind of devotion spiritual leaders had for the Chadron lineage, so in one deceptively simple move he united the concept of god into king as hispredecessors before him literally uniting the crown with the supreme symbol of the shadron divinity, the raven, the raven um is a symbol of the Buddhist deity.

It is assumed that Mahakala decided to leave Tibet and move to Bhutan when he saw a crow potentially flying in that particular direction, hence the association of the crow with the shabdung with Bhutan. Wong Chuk kings wear a crow crown, so there is a union of the two lineages, meaning that the possibility of a threat to the Wong Chuks arising from the refuge lineage is minimized by symbolically absorbing it. The Crow Crown provided spiritual legitimacy to his rule, but he still had to subdue the final rebellions of other Song Lords again. Wang Chuk spent the next 20 years uniting Bhutan until his death in 1926.

He was succeeded by his son Jigmei Wangchuk during His reign the Zhongs of Bhutan came under royal control once and for all Bhutan was finally at peace, at least for now the new king was free to devote himself to winning the hearts and minds of his subjects. He did this by building new palaces in the kingdom, visiting them regularly to make sure he kept in touch with his people, so this is the palace of Kungarabtan. which was the winter palace of the second king, it was built in 1932 and he lived until the second king died in 1952. the king would come in grand procession from his main palace hundreds of horses hundreds of servants descending down the hill arriving here at the palace for the winter residence of the king and his queen and the entire village would cheer up nebu doji was a child when the second king built his winter palace in the village their annual residence was a festival involving the entire village their status as absolute rulers and their Efforts to attract the people did not guarantee the safety of the Wangchuk dynasty.

The royal family of Bhutan suffered legitimacy issues during the early years of rule, and the reincarnations of the various Chadrons posed a threat; The biggest challenge yet to the dragon throne, but it would also show what the Wang chicks were capable of when their supremacy was threatened in 1931. The monarchy of Bhutan had been ruling for only 24 years, but they were not the only group with appetite for power. in the dragon kingdom jigme wangchuk had been on the throne for only five years when the threat of the reincarnated shabdrung resurfaced jigme doji the sixth chadron challenged wang chuk's right to rule there was an appeal made to mahatma gandhi in india by the then Chadron and his supporters restored him to his previous position, but in 1931 the result of this was that the Shah was quietly eliminated.

Popular history says that she used silk scarves and this is actually told, this was always something that The Bhutanese knew but didn't talk much about or any other type of dark secret in the history of the country, but actually one of the queens has written about it in his father's biography. It was a bold act that they performed. with the challenge decisively in true wang chuk style and for the next two decades the second king ruled peacefully in 1952 he died and his son jigme dorji wangchuk ascended the dragon throne like his father and grandfather before him the third king He would face a huge crisis that threatened his throne when China took over Tibet in 1951.

Communism was at Bhutan's doorstep. For Bhutanese working on land they did not own and had no rights to communism, it seemed an attractive idea. The third king acted quickly and sided with his powerful neighbors. towards the south and at home he began a series of reforms the king began large-scale reforms he did the agrarian reform which was something enormous he took the land from the body of monks who were very rich and then he also redistributed the land from the body of monks, That is to say, agrarian reform is one of the boldest measures that can be taken.

The alliance with India provided support for Bhutan's planned economic development. Modern infrastructures were built, such as roads, communication systems financed mainly by India and in 1966 the third king. He made Tempu the capital of Bhutan, so the third king who ruled at the time is still universally seen as a very enlightened and far-sighted ruler who perhaps anticipated demands for change in his own country. The third king's modernization program helped thwart any plans China may have had to continue its expansion beyond the Himalayan territory. Once again, the king of Bhutan had secured his country's independence. In 1971, Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations.

UN membership further strengthened its sovereign status which was a seal that guaranteed Bhutan's independence, but it did not stop there as Bhutan Connect connected with the outside world. Bhutan would also have to change internally. He instituted the national assembly and

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ized that the people needed to be more involved in his own government. That was the first step towards constitutional democracy during the 20 year reign of jigme doji wangchuk bhutan made significant progress the third king was affectionately known as the father of modern bhutan died young at the age of 49. This put his son Jigmei Singh Wangchuk on the Dragon Throne in 1972 when he was only 17 years old.

I mean, you imagine he was 17 years old. He was a boy who played football and suddenly he is a king and from the beginning the fourth king had been completely committed to his people and to helping Bhutan change and modernize without giving up. the uniqueness of tradition and what makes bhutan bhutan made global headlines in 1972, when the fourth king introduced an unusual national policy the country's wealth was not to be measured in money but in gross national happiness gross national happiness is now part of bhutan's political brand Leaders who want to appear radical come to Bhutan in the hope that some of the political magic will rub off on them.

Economists and planners around the world have attempted to formalize and measure gross national happiness and have applied it outside of Bhutan. It is a mantra that is mocked as much as it is worshiped. City politicians have to fight hard to keep it meaningful and relevant to the country's progress. We interpret happiness not as pleasure as it is widely interpreted, but as a much deeper sense of satisfaction that is found within, that is where one looks inward to accept that gross national happiness therefore becomes a responsibility of the government or a mandate of the state to create an environment where citizens can pursue happiness that is, in essence, transnational happiness.

Mathan had successfully sold an image of himself to the outside world as a Buddhist Eden. land of happiness, but deep inside he was facing an identity crisis about what it meant to be Bhutanese. Bhutan is a very ethnically mixed country, there are three main ethnic groups and many minor ones, no group has an absolute majority in terms of numbers. The Ngalong are the people of the north and west of the country where the king and most of the ruling class come from. The population along the southern border of the country is mainly of Nepalese origin and are relatively recent immigrants who probably arrived in the country between 1865. and in 1930 this ethnic mixing had not been seen as a problem until a large population of southern Nepali speakers began to gain influence throughout Bhutanese society.

In 1991, the king and his ministers immediately acted to try to preserve the specific culture and identity of Bhutan and Suddenly, almost very quickly, in about a year, a large number of laws emerged regarding marriage, citizenship, property ownership. the land and then the wearing of the Bhutanese national costume in official places, even today school children wear the national costume for men, it is the return. centuries as the formal attire of the dragon court, Bhutan's Drukpa heritage is part of its national identity reinforced by the monarchy and the upper crust of Bhutanese society, I think it was very, very important for His Majesty the 4th King to do this to instil in our youth and our future generations, that hey, we can't lose our culture for a genetic culture, we must be Bhutanese first and foremost, regardless of which part of the country you come from, now we all must think about being Bhutanese to maintain your culture, respect your culture, your religion, your elders respect the elders but the teachers these are Buddhist values ​​of Bhutan.

I think those are the value systems that keep us going. Despite all these measures, it was still felt that the purity of Bhutanese culture and identity was threatened. His response was to carry out the census that he defined. how bhutanese were you if you were not bhutanese enough you had to leave 19 in 1988 the government of bhutan carried out a census throughout the south and a large number of people who had considered themselves full citizens with citizenship cards and so on They became less certain in their minds about their right to remain in Bhutan and they directly attacked Nepali speakers in the south when this political tension broke out, a large number of them were afraid because a member of their family had been arrested and They didn't.

He did not know where they were or because they were being harassed by Bhutanese government security forces telling them to leave the country and also because they were being severely pressured by their own peers to participate in anti-government protests and activities Bruce News . and they were being coerced with threats and, you know, violence from there, so people were caught in the middle. In the three years after the census, southern Nepalese began fleeing to refugee camps in Nepal. torture, rape and violence by the Bhutanese authorities. At first, the international community gave little credence to these horror stories.

They couldn't believe that Bhutan, the last Shangri-La, was capable of something like that. violence however the large number of refugees involved meant that the evidence was compelling: a sixth of the population had been expelled from the country and in these camps the world could no longer ignore these human rights abuses the possible consequences for the throne of the dragon could not have been more serious, how was the king to deflect this indignation and regain the support of the international community on which his small kingdom depended, like his ancestors before him, he faced a serious crisis and, like them, delivered a political masterstroke to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan?

He considers himself blessed, his people have enjoyed a century of unprecedented peace and stability, and he thanks his monarchs, the five kings, for his wise and lucid rule. The economic philosophy that guides Bhutan is world famous, called gross national happiness, and emphasizes Buddhist principles. of finding satisfaction without material pleasure, but the thunder dragon kingdom has been hit by many challenges in its 400-year history, threats from its giant neighbors and internal division were just a few in the last decades of the 20th century, not It was war or religion that shook Bhutan, but ethnic politics and global opinion, the forced expulsion of the Nepali-speaking population had shocked the world, the king faced international condemnation, it also highlighted the royal system of government of Bhutan, every day he sat on the throne as absolute monarch.

Bhutan's brand was being damaged further, but in typical Wang-chuk fashion, he had a plan at heart. He had been slowly modernizing Bhutan's political system. He would change the monarchy from absolute rulers to a constitutional monarchy and thus bring democracy to his people. It is another example that Wong Chuk's kings were very astute in seeing how the wind blows and took a step perhaps before being forced to do so. During the 1990s, it strengthened the powers of democratic organizations and in 1998 even gave the cabinet the power to fire For him, strangely, the biggest obstacle to the introduction of democracy was the people themselves.

The arguments really came down to people saying, please, no. We asked two very important questions why and the king's own response was that, you know, this small vulnerable country should not be left in the hands of one man, a person who is chosen by birth not by merit, there cannot be many places where the king has encouraged you could almost say forced but encouraged the people to accept democracy and take away their power and there may even be fewer countries where the king or the rulers actually traveled around the country explaining all this to the people to give them time to get used to the concept.

In many countries in South Asia and other parts of the world, I think they interpret democracy as simply electoral. democracy you know the façade without the culture of democracy and this is synonymous with political violence with political corruption so people say why you know I mean it was a genuine response that really says why we want things to go well in Bhutan . was shocked, in the space of a year a draft constitution had been published that promisedfreedom of thought and expression, creating a multi-party democracy and even a mandatory retirement age for the king of 65 years.

It was a terrible shock for people, it was as if the father had let go of the child's hand and the child was not sure which direction to take, it was a deep shock, but there were more shocks in 2005, just six months after it was published the constitution, the fourth king made another announcement in uh, 2005, when during the national day celebrations in December, the king gave his national day speech and said that he would resign and that the crown prince would be named king. I mean, it was hard for us to believe, to believe that you know, to believe such a thing.

At one point, when I think about it, I realize that it is as if the father had achieved his destiny and the son was beginning his. In the space of a couple of years, the fourth king had promulgated a new constitution, had put in place March the first elections and stepped down from his throne, it seemed that his legacy to his son Jikme Kesar Nam Wang Chuk was a new Bhutan for a new era and when the former king placed the crow crown on his son's head, the entire country looked into the future, it's very special, it's the first time.

Of all the hundred years of manaki and the first coordination in my life, that is actually why the first time in my life that I see a king crowned is very special. It's really wonderful to see a king or a leader so in touch with his people and so caring about his people, well the king will always be special to us, no matter if you know the government becomes a democracy or a monarchy , the king will always be special to the people of Britain, why do we love the king, simple as that? The answer I can give politically is a young country with a young king at its helm.

Only 28 years old. The fifth king faces a whole new set of challenges. Bhutan is taking its first steps. To embrace the 21st century, the first was overseeing the inaugural elections in Bhutan with a population that approached democracy with suspicion. People are a little apprehensive because we have seen that democracy, of course, is not the best form of government. You know it's just Basically, I think it expands your options for government, you know, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee prosperity, it doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness, it's a democracy in the sense that people vote, it's not a full democracy in the sense that that when they vote, they can We only really vote for two parties and when we look at the leaders of the parties, they are clearly people close to the royal family and the palace, so the dirty business of politics is left to others.

The introduction of the democratic system was carefully managed by the fourth king to maintain the revered status of the monarchy and the relevance of the king's position in today's world, I believe in terms of providing emotional and psychological security to the people in times when even Bhutanese democracy can go through upheavals. I think the king will play a very important role as he does even now, but at the same time, the king does not interfere in the direct rule of the country, but he is there, he will always be there, a presence that will also ensure that those. those in power behave well for the benefit of the people.

I believe he will always be the most powerful moral ethical force in the country. It's one thing to love your country. Jigme Kesar Nam Wangchuk has huge shoes to fill and an extraordinary legacy. To live up to it so far we have worked very hard and today we can proudly say that the system we built, the unique and profound constitution we have drafted, is as strong and solid as possible. We have had a very good start. Democracy is a time of transition for the monarchy its future will largely depend on the young king and untested ideals I think the essence of the Bhutanese monarchy itself will not change because it is the relationship between the king and the people that you know the king bestows his kindness to the people the people submit their loyalty to the king and that is what we call the Bhutanese system.

What has happened here is that simultaneously the king is not head of government, which means that he does not run the day-to-day affairs. daily planning of roads, schools, hospitals and, in fact, has introduced a system, you know, called democratic government, you know, system that includes parliament and the judiciary and all that to carry out that part of uh, you know, governance and while the king is there, there are still many things there. in contact with the people, so the king's strength still comes from the will of the people. The love of people in the village of Bhutan, where most of the population lives.

The earthquake of democracy has had little impact. Life goes on as usual and the consensus is that if the king wants democracy then who are the people to argue and in the temples around Bhutan the monks go about their daily business as before tending to the spiritual needs of the people and the drive of the increasingly wealthy and educated middle classes still enjoys a day at the shrines and temples on the outskirts of the city. The culture of Bhutan is a village culture and its monarchy is part of daily village life. . I think one thing to appreciate is a fairly small country with a fairly small population.

It's almost true to say that everyone knows everyone. otherwise, now this makes it a family and I think if you live here or stay here a long time, you become very aware of how much of a family it is. Now, as king, his father, he has a duty to the people more like a father's duty to his children and because it is a small country with a very family atmosphere, that type of family duty is greatly reinforced. The close ties between the royal family and the people can be seen in the sports they play. The sport of the artery of kings is practiced by Bhutanese subjects with the same enthusiasm as their ruling village culture Buddhist faith deference towards the king for now these values ​​still dominate the people the impact of the modern world through tourists the Television and the Internet will surely change Bhutan in some way, but how it has done it.

The change depends on the people themselves, not just the Dragon King, it is not one man, it is the entire country, it is the women, the family system that will sustain the country, it will be the family, the family unit that will maintain our culture during the last years. century, the wang chuk dynasty has been ahead of its people, leading them forward, the leaders see the great leaders present, they see the future and Bhutan has been lucky in that sense and that is why Bhutan has survived through the centuries For Bhutan to continue its survival, the new king will do so.

He will have to demonstrate his political acumen and vision for the future, just like his predecessors. The fifth king will no doubt face challenges new and old. His ability to handle them will contribute to the success of the monarchy. I want you to love your country in the smartest way you can. You must always keep in mind that it is one thing to love your country and quite another to love it intelligently. The future of Bhutan's monarchy is now in the hands of its young king, but more importantly, it is in the hands of the Bhutanese themselves.