PUNAKHA, Bhutan (Reuters) ? Bhutan's "Dragon King" married a young commoner in an ancient Himalayan monastic fortress on Thursday, sipping a chalice of ambrosia symbolising eternal life in a Buddhist wedding that has transfixed a reclusive kingdom slowly embracing globalisation.
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck wore a crown adorned with a raven's head during the sumptuous ceremony in this 17th-century fortress, as 21-year-old student Jetsun Pema, daughter of an airline pilot, received a crown embroidered with silk.
In a nation of 700,000 people where television was only introduced in 1999, the ceremony was broadcast live. Thousands of people, dressed in traditional coloured robes, stood outside. Some monks chanted, others hit drums, as white incense drifted through the morning mist.
Oxford-educated Wangchuck, 31, is revered as this insular nation slowly embraces democracy after his father abdicated in 2006 to introduce parliamentary elections. The monarchy is seen as helping stabilise a fragile democracy wedged between India and China in a conflict-ridden region.
HORNS IN THE MIST
"It's great, you should try it yourself," the king told a female reporter after the ceremony when asked what marriage was like.
As the mist slowly lifted, Buddhist horns sounded across the Punakha valley as the bride arrived in a procession of singers, relatives and Buddhist monks across an ancient footbridge, all led by a white horse. Baby elephants guarded one of the fortress's entrances.
Nomadic farmers dressed in ceremonial dress walked down from the mountain hills to the fortress, nestled between two rivers.
The king and his father entered a sacred chamber holding the embalmed body of the 17th-century remains of Bhutan's founder, where they received holy Buddhist scarves and a chalice of blessed curd that represents eternal life.
The king's father, accompanied by his four wives, handed the blessed coloured scarves to a nervous-looking bride.
"I am a very happy man today," said Kesang Chopel, 41, a Buddhist saffron-robed monk who watched the couple's arrival in Bhutan's former ancient capital. "There is the king, and there are so many masters here, lamas. There is a special feeling."
Posters of the couple adorn just about every building, lamppost and roundabout in the capital, Thimphu, three hours drive away. School children have published poems in honour of the queen, calling her "the moon, a beautiful heroine and the lotus flower".
Monks have held dawn prayer sessions in remote mountain valleys and Bhutan's airline has had to add extra flights to deal with the demand of visitors from abroad.
IMAGE OF SHANGRI-LA
Bhutan, known as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" has been happy to promote a Shangri-la image with its snow-capped peaks and largely untouched forests. People must still wear the traditional knee-length robes in public.
Bhutan is famed for its "Gross National Happiness" index, an alternative to GDP that measures personal well-being and the environment rather than focusing on economic growth.
It has been reluctant to open up to the rest of the world. Tourism was only allowed in the 1970s, and when the first car arrived in the 1950s many people thought it was a fire-eating dragon. The capital's attempts to have traffic lights were thwarted by residents complaining they were unsightly.
The 31-year-old monarch is known as the "people's king" for his relaxed manner with his subjects, and - sporting sideburns and swept-back hair - he is a pin-up for many teenage girls as far away as Thailand.
But Bhutan's fifth king, affectionately known as K5, also provides the checks and balances on an unsure democracy where political parties did not exist four years ago.
"The royal wedding has ensured the continuity of the monarchy," said Tshering Tobgay, Bhutan's opposition leader. "And monarchy has helped strengthen our democracy."
A successful monarchy may be key to bringing stability to a kingdom that sits amid a region racked by civil conflict and war. Neighbouring Nepal's monarch was recently abolished, while India absorbed the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim and China, Tibet.
Wangchuck is not expected to follow the example of his father, who married four sisters from a wealthy family. Polygamy is allowed in Bhutan, but it is rare.
"While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart," Wangchuck said on an announcing his marriage to parliament. "These qualities together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience will make her a great servant to the nation."
The new king, a keen basketball player and archer, has jettisoned that reclusive and elitist image. He lives in a cottage in Thimphu, and often invites his subjects for tea.
He has spent months touring Bhutan's remote villages - often walking among villagers holding his bride-to-be by the hand.
But while an older generation will bow and refuse to look their king in the eye, a younger generation is happy to converse with their monarch.
After his wedding, the king walked around thousands of many villagers who waited outside the fortress, patting children on the head and shaking hands in gestures unheard from previous monarchs.
His Oxford University education has helped him develop a broader outlook that underscores how Bhutan is aware it must reach out to the world for investment to appease its growing urban and young population eager for jobs and the trappings of 21st-century life.
The king has other powers that make him popular. He can grant scarce farming land in a country where farmers that make up two thirds of the population, and he helps run disaster prevention.
(Editing by John Chalmers and Jonathan Thatcher)
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