Though they not maintain absolute energy, Thailand’s monarchs are nonetheless seen as avatars of Divine will on Earth. In 2016, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died after problems from well being points together with a blood an infection. Bhumibol was 88 years outdated and had reigned for a formidable sixty-six years. His son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, instantly accepted the throne, however had but to be correctly coronated as a result of sudden nature of his father’s passing and the intensive preparations required to crown a brand new ruler in Thailand.
Now, eventually, the time has formally come to crown Vajiralongkorn, who’s often known as “Rama X” (on account of being the 10th monarch of a dynasty that began with Rama the First). The pageantry and celebration of his coronation are each elaborate, starting in April with the gathering and blessings of water from throughout Thailand for use on this weekend’s ceremonies in addition to prayers by monks on the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and inscriptions of royal golden plaques and the Royal Seal of State.
On Saturday, May 4th, the three-day coronation occasion correct started with a royal purification ceremony, Rama X’s ascension to the throne, the reception of assorted symbols of sovereignty, and a gathering with different members of the royal household. But on May fifth, the nation threw its new monarch a celebration. A 343-man procession traveled seven kilometers (4.3 miles) by means of Old Bangkok, permitting Thais to pay homage to their new king.
And what higher solution to cap off this celebration – what higher solution to mix the outdated and the brand new, custom with the newest know-how – than with a spectacular drone gentle present.

The present concerned greater than 300 drones, every being managed by a pilot relatively than a pre-programmed flight path. The unmanned plane – light-weight plastic quadcopters carrying a big programmable gentle which you could see within the video above – fashioned varied shapes within the air to the rhythm of the music being performed by a dwell band. These shapes included a posh silhouette of the King himself, phrases comparable to “Chakri Dynasty” and the quantity “10”, the nationwide flower, celebratory messages, and an elephant. Elephants maintain a particular place of significance in Thai historical past and tradition, representing the monarchy, battle, peace, and serenity. Live elephants have been additionally a part of the continuing coronation celebrations, with exactly ten of them marching previous the palace final Tuesday.
To me, the best a part of the total drone flight video (not out there on YouTube and sadly not embedded above) is when all of the drones take off, one after the other, in time with the music. Forming complicated shapes and all is attention-grabbing and spectacular in its personal approach, however any drone pilot is aware of how arduous it have to be to coordinate greater than 300 autos and never have them crash into one another throughout that delicate, step-by-step ballet of a takeoff process. You can see extra footage of the flight right here.
Drone gentle reveals have gotten an increasing number of widespread as an thrilling approach to boost main concert events, sporting occasions, product launches, and different occasions. But hardly ever are these gentle reveals as huge or spectacular as this one. Perhaps extra considerably, that is the primary time drone gentle reveals have been used as a part of an occasion with this a lot non secular and political significance – drawing the eyes of your complete nation, and certainly, the world.
Kennedy Martinez is a resident author who joined Dronethusiast in the beginning of 2019. She has years of expertise reviewing drones and different tech merchandise. When it involves flying drones, Kennedy loves the flexibility to create inventive movies from a novel perspective. Kennedy enjoys researching new drones and different thrilling merchandise which are out there to shoppers which is why she is dedicated to creating the most effective purchaser’s guides for our readers.