Netizens told not to share fake posts

Final farewell: An official makes arrangements in Wat Bowonniwet Vihara's ubosot main hall where the cremated ashes of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej will be enshrined on Sunday.

Netizens have been warned to stop sharing fake photos and information about the royal cremation ceremonies, after several such examples spread on social media.

Maj Gen Pirawat Saengthong, Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) spokesman, on Saturday urged social media users to watch out for fake photos and information regarding the royal cremation ceremonies and to think twice before sharing them.

He cited photos which were taken during a royal ceremony on Dec 17, 2015, to collect the remains of the late supreme patriarch, Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara.

These photos were shared in recent days on social media, but claimed to be the photos of the royal ceremony held on Friday to collect the relics and ashes of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Maj Gen Pirawat said.

Anyone who has seen fake photos or posts that insult the monarchy or pose a threat to national security can alert Isoc by dialling 007 or via its Line ID @ISOC.

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun presided over a royal merit-making ceremony on Saturday for the relics of his father, the late King Bhumibol, in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace.

On Sunday, His Majesty the King will preside over a ceremony to enshrine the relics of the late King at the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall, also in the Grand Palace.

The cremated ashes of the late King will also be enshrined at Wat Rajabophit Sathit Maha Simaram and Wat Bowonniwet Vihara.

Phra Phrommunee, the assistant abbot of Wat Rajabophit Sathit Maha Simaram, on Saturday revealed that officials from the Royal Household Bureau have completed preparations for today's ceremony.

His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch, who is also the temple's abbot, will lead 30 monks to perform the religious ceremonies, Phra Phrommunee said.

The temple has been decorated with marigolds, which are a symbol of commemoration for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the monk said.

The yellow colour of the flower is associated with Monday, the day on which the revered late King was born.

Phra Phrommunee also said that arrangements have been made to accommodate about 500 distinguished guests who will attend the ceremony. Police have been deployed to maintain security in and around the temple, the monk added.

On Sunday, a golden urn holding the late King's relics will be transferred from Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall to Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.

The urn will be kept there permanently, and the casket containing the royal ashes will be moved from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to Wat Rajabophit and Wat Bowonniwet Vihara.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck on Saturday said the government has announced that mourning for the late King will officially end at midnight on Sunday.

The government declared a one-year mourning period starting on Oct 14 last year after the late King passed away the previous day.

Mourning was later extended through the Oct 25-29 royal funeral rites.

From Monday, black and white cloth, which is the symbol of mourning, must be removed from government buildings and other public locations.

Signs with messages of mourning must also be taken down, Mr Ormsin said.

However, this will not apply to the pictures and portraits of the late King Rama IX in public places. These can be kept in place on a voluntary basis.

Mr Ormsin also said that the public are advised to continue to dress in subdued colours during the initial period after the end of mourning.

Meanwhile, streams of mourners continued to turn up to place flowers before the portrait of the late King outside the wall of the Grand Palace on Saturday.

Members of the public still have to pass screening checkpoints around the Sanam Luang ceremonial ground, while many people lined the streets to watch the royal motorcade taking His Majesty the King and royal family members to the Grand Palace, where a royal merit-making ceremony was held for the late King's relics on Saturday.

Pol Maj Gen Montree Yimyaem, deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, on Saturday said thousands of people who had encamped around Sanam Luang since the first day of the royal cremation ceremony on Thursday remained there as they wished to watch the final ceremonial procession which will carry the late King's ashes to Wat Rajabophit and Wat Bowonniwet on Sunday.

Many more people are expected to turn up to watch the final ceremonial procession, he added.

In the procession -- the final of six scheduled for the royal cremation ceremony, Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana will lead mounted soldiers from the 29th Cavalry Battalion, to transport the ashes of the late King to the two temples.

Pol Maj Gen Montree said that about 400,000 people have been screened on entry to the Sanam Luang ceremonial ground since Oct 25.