BANGKOK (Sputnik) - Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), who has been heading the country since 2016, was officially crowned on Saturday.

The main part of the coronation ceremony has already finished in the Thai capital of Bangkok.

The ceremony and all of its rituals are aired by all Thai broadcasters.

At noon local time (05:00 GMT), Rama X placed on his head the crown of the Chakri dynasty — the currently ruling royal house — that hereditary Brahmans and top Thai officials handed to him. After that, the senior Brahman — a Hindu priest and the royal master of ceremonies — announced the full name of Rama X and all his titles, adding the "Phra Bat" prefix, which serves as an indication that the king is officially crowned. The coronation ceremony has affirmed the traditional divine status of the Thai king.

After the coronation of the king, a royal decree was read out on assigning the status of the crowned queen of Thailand to Rama X's wife Suthida Vajiralongkorn. They married mere days before the coronation.

Suthida, a 40-year-old former Thai Airways flight attendant and military officer, was appointed deputy commander of the king's household guard in 2014. Suthida became commander of the Special Operations Unit of the King's Guard and promoted to the rank of full general in December 2016, shortly after Vajiralongkorn's ascendancy to the throne. She was also bestowed the royal rank of Than Phu Ying ('High Lady').

Vajiralongkorn, 66, took power two years ago, after the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who served as Thailand's king from 1946 until his death in 2016.