Final journey

His Majesty the King on Sunday assigned His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to collect the remains of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana following the royal cremation ceremony on Saturday.

At 8.30am, the Crown Prince arrived at the royal cremation site at Sanam Luang, accompanied by members of the royal family.

The Crown Prince entered the royal crematorium to gather the remains of the princess, the elder sister of His Majesty.

He presented saffron robes to six senior Buddhist monks, who chanted prayers for the princess as part of the religious rites.

The Crown Prince put the relics in a newly-created golden urn covered with precious stones.

The ashes were placed in a separate container.

A palace official then took the golden urn housing the relics to the Songtham Pavilion and placed it on an elaborate Busabok throne.

In the pavilion, the Crown Prince performed religious rites and offered food to monks.

He also offered each of the monks Krueng Sangket - a set of mementoes of the princess specially made to commemorate the royal cremation ceremony. After the religious rites, a ceremonial procession - the fourth of six scheduled for the royal funeral ceremony - was formed with the golden urn containing the relics placed on another ornate throne atop a four-poled palanquin.

His Majesty assigned Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to accompany the procession. The golden urn was moved and placed in the Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

A casket containing the princess' ashes was placed atop a palanquin covered with a roof and was moved to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

A royal merit-making ceremony for the relics will be held on Monday in the Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall.

On Tuesday, the golden urn housing the relics will be transferred to the Chakri Maha Prasart Throne Hall in the Grand Palace, where it will be kept permanently.

On Wednesday, the casket containing the ashes will be moved to the royal cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram, where it will stay.

Group Capt Arvuth Ngernchuklin, a national artist who led a team of artisans building the royal crematorium, said the Crown Prince praised officials of the Fine Arts Department for the good job they had done during the royal funeral ceremony.

Department director-general Kriangkrai Sampatchalit said credit for the success went to all artisans and officials involved in the event.