Putting aside their political animosity for a day thousands of Thais lined the streets to honour the country’s ailing monarch on the 60th anniversary of his coronation. Adored by the whole country, this rare public appearance of Thailand’s King proved a welcome relief to the civil war that has gripped the country for over two months.

The highly revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej emerged in a wheelchair from a Bangkok hospital to preside over the ceremonies.

At 82 years old the king is the world’s longest reigning monarch and has been hospitalised for the past nine months with what the palace initially described as a lung inflammation.

The monarch made no comment on the paralysing stalemate that has pitted Government forces against pro-democracy protesters, who have occupied parts of Bangkok and demand the dissolution of parliament.

The ensuing violence has cost the lives of 27 people and injured thousands.

Inside the Throne Hall, orange-robed Buddhist monks chanted as the king and Queen sat on golden thrones.

Vejjajiva was among the top political, military and royal figures who participated in the ceremonies. His proposal of reconciliation has been welcomed by the Red Shirt protesters, who cautioned that they needed more details before dismantling their protest camp in the capital’s main commercial district. Both sides wanted to use the celebrations of Coronation Day to further national reconciliation.

Inside their barricaded protest zone, the Red Shirts held a ceremony, featuring the blessings of Buddhist monks.The protesters have called on the government to stop linking them to an alleged violent anti-monarchy movement.

Accusations of disloyalty to the king are political poison in Thailand, where it is a crime to insult the monarchy.

Many Thais had hoped that the king, who ascended to the throne in 1946, might broker a peaceful solution to the crisis, as he did in 1973 when he stopped bloodshed during a student uprising and again in 1992 during anti-military street protests.

Despite the monarch’s silence Abhisit Vejjajiva and the anti-government Red Shirt protesters have edged closer to a compromise in the past few days.

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