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BANGKOK - More than 100,000 Thais paid their last respects to the sister of the world's longest reigning king at a lavish funeral Saturday, in a brief respite from the political crisis gripping the country.
Saffron-robed monks Buddhist chanted as revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej prepared to light a golden, purpose-built pyre for his elder sister Princess Galyani, who died of cancer in January at the age of 84.
Earlier a procession of more than 2,000 crimson-clad soldiers, flanked by conch shell-blowers and drummers, pulled a historic teak chariot carrying Galyani's remains through the streets of Bangkok.
In a mark of the almost divine respect with which the monarchy is held here, Thailand's feuding political factions sat together in ceremonial dress for the 8.9-million-dollar funeral despite months of often violent protests.
Ordinary Thais dressed in sombre black clothes lined the streets of the capital, bowing their heads and pressing their hands together in a traditional gesture of respect as the late princess's chariot passed.
"I slept here last night because I was afraid I would not get a good place. But it was worth coming here to see our princess," Somporn Nakhao, 36, from the southern province of Champhon, told AFP.
Senior police commander Colonel Rangsan Praditphol said there were "more than 100,000 people" massed for the ceremony, the second and biggest day of a six-day set of funeral rituals.
Ancient Thai music wailed as the urn carrying the princess's body left the royal throne hall, where she lay in state for 10 months, and was carried atop the 14-tonne chariot accompanied by troops, courtiers and royal umbrellas.
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and embattled Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat took part in the procession wearing white ceremonial dress. Cannons boomed at one-minute intervals throughout the solemn march.
The carriage finally arrived at the pyre -- the most spectacular of dozens of temporary funeral buildings at the site -- a 39-metre (128-foot) tower modelled on Mount Meru, a mythical Buddhist site said to be at the centre of the universe.
King Bhumibol then arrived for the cremation service itself, making an increasingly rare public appearance that was watched by millions of Thais in a live television broadcast.
Between the funeral and the king's 81st birthday on December 5, there is expected to be a lull in the months of political turmoil that have rocked the Southeast Asian nation, but after that the battle is set to resume.
Protesters have occupied the main official buildings in Bangkok since August, refusing to leave until the resignation of the government, which they accuse of acting as a front for ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The demonstrations exploded into violence on October 7, with two protesters killed and nearly 500 people injured after fierce, teargas-fogged clashes with police.
But as a mark of respect for the princess -- a popular former French teacher and the monarch's elder sister -- the anti-government demonstrators agreed at the last minute to clear a road on the funeral route.
After the cremation, the funeral buildings will be torn down because they are reminders of the death of a beloved royal. It is the first royal funeral in Thailand since that of the king's mother in 1996.
But Thailand's political convulsions will be more difficult to erase.
There are no signs of retreat from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the group leading the protests and which accuses Somchai's government of acting as a corrupt front for his brother-in-law Thaksin.
Thaksin was toppled in a bloodless coup in 2006.
Thailand's monarchy officially plays no political role, but when the king's wife Queen Sirikit donated thousands of dollars towards medical expenses and attended the funeral of one of the people killed in last month's protests, the demonstrators hailed the move as proof of royal support.
- AFP/ir
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