Kings of Bhutan : Bhutan Monarchy

The Bhutan monarchy was formed in 1907 under the leadership of First King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuk, unifying the country under the control of the Wangchuck family, all the kings of bhutan were to serves as the Trongsa Penlop before enthroning becoming the king, The king of Bhutan is formally known as the Druk Gyalpo, the Dragon King. The Year 2008 will be the landmark in the history of Bhutan as Bhutan will Celebrate the 100 years of Monarchy in the Kingdom of Bhutan. The historic occasion will be remembered by all the bhutanese people as they pay and offer gratitude to all the kings who have shaped the country to a present glory.

This will offer a life time opportunity to all the people to witness and be a part of the celebration and with guest coming all over from the world, Bhutan will rejoice the moment.

As for the General Public and my valuable reader information, here are the brief description of the kings of Bhutan till now.

The first King : Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuk (1861-1926)
Sir Ugyen Wangchuck (or Deb Nagpo) (1861–1926) was the first king of Bhutan and founder of Monarchy in Bhutan in 1907, He ruled bhutan from 17 December 1907–21 August 1926. He was the penlop (governor) of Tongsa. From his power base in central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck defeated his political enemies and united the country following several civil wars and rebellions in 1882-1885. In what was an epochal year for the country, in 1907 Ugyen Wangchuck was unanimously chosen as the hereditary monarch of the country by the people at Punakha, the Capital of Bhutan at the time. For his services to the Francis Younghusband expedition to Lhasa, Tibet, he was knighted by the British in 1904. He was succeed by Jigme Wangchuk.

Second King : Jigme Wangchuk (1902/1906–1952)
His Majesty Jigme Wangchuk was the second king of bhutan and ruled bhutan from 21 August 1926–24 March 1952, he was educated in English, Hindi and Buddhist literature and under his reign Bhutan continued to maintain almost complete isolation from the outside world, maintaining only limited relation with the United Kingdom, then the colonial power in India responsible for foreign affairs. This responsibility was transferred to India in 1949, shortly after that country gained independence. He was succeeded by his son, Jigme Dorji Wangchuk.





Third King : Jigme Dorji Wangchuk (May 2, 1928-July 21, 1972)
His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuk was the third king of bhutan after succeeding his father, Jigme Wangchuck, on October 27, 1952, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was known as the Father of Modern Bhutan as he began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first steps toward democratization. He also put an end to feudalism and released all remaining serfs. He encouraged certain modern inventions to assist the local peasantry and introduced wheeled vehicles, where previously the transportation of crops and people was done manually.





Fourth King : Jigme Singye Wangchuk (11 November 1955)
His Majesty Jigme Singye Wanghcuk was the fourth King of Bhutan after He acceded to the throne at the age of 17, in 1972, after the sudden death of his father, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. When he was formally crowned on June 2, 1974 he was the youngest monarch in the world and the coronation was noted for inviting foreign dignitaries, thus signaling the end of the long isolation of the country. In the span of 4 decades of his Majesty Rule, Bhutan was transformed to modern era from Medieval era. For his glorious reign, his majesty was named as one of Time magazine's 100 People Who Shape Our World in 2006. He announce his intentition abdicate the throne in 2008, but In a royal edict issued on December 14, 2006, His Majetsy Jigme Singye Wangchuk announced that he would begin handing over power to his eldest son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck immediately. He abdicated the throne in 14th December 2006 to Fifth King His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk.

Fifth King : Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk (21 February 1980)
His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk is the Fifth king of Bhutan and world's youngest head of state ,after fourth king his majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuk In December 2005, announced his intention to abdicate in his son's favour in 2008, and that he would begin handing over responsibility to him immediately.On December 14, 2006, he announced his immediate abdication and transfer of the throne to Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. His Majesty Fifth King Official Coronation to be held in 2008.