King Jigme, Queen Jetsun Pema and the Royal Family of Bhutan 1: Ending 2021


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I just heard the news that the Queen has given birth. Congratulations!
 
This is such wonderful news! Congratulations to the new parents.
 
Since the last four of Bhutan's five kings have been Jigme, I am going to take a wild guess and say his first name will be Jigme.:D It seems as likely as when Fred and Mary had their first son and named him Christian. The king's full brother is also Jigme, and one half brother has it as a middle. It will be interesting to see the middle
 
So happy that mom and baby are doing great!
 
It seems that the birth of the royal baby coincided with a unique religious event in Bhutan too:
When the Bhutanese people look back at our history, we think of Guru Rinpoche, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, and our Kings, as the towering figures who illuminated the path that has brought us here, to the present day, in which we offer thanks for all the gifts of peace and tranquility that our exceptional country enjoys.
Therefore, for us, this is a year of the most marvelous conjunction of events, or tendril. The Year of the Male Fire Monkey, which comes but once in 60 years, is the auspicious year of the birth of Guru Rinpoche, and 2016 marks 400 years since the arrival of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel to Bhutan. As we celebrate Losar this year, the hearts of the people of Bhutan are filled to the brim of joy, for we welcome in this special year, our Gyalsey, the first Royal Child of our beloved King and Queen, who will be a son to all Bhutanese....
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https://www.facebook.com/KingJigmeKhesar/photos/a.485878073259.272441.43817623259/10153790447768260/?type=3&theater
 
Royal baby`s first official photo

❦ Bhutanese families spent a wonderful Losar today, celebrating the day with family and loved ones. To make the day even more special, we have the honour of bringing to you the very first official photograph of His Royal Highness The Gyalsey.
In this delightful Losar Kupar from Lingkana Palace, His Royal Highness The Gyalsey is surrounded by His Majesty The King, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, and Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen.
His Royal HIghness The Gyalsey was born on the 5th of February 2016, and is the first Royal Child of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen. ❦
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Congratulations to the proud parents, and to the people of Bhutan on the birth of an heir.
 
A very nice and warm picture! I hope we get to see the baby prince face in the March calender.
Jetsun Pema has good genes, it looks like she never was pregnant, she looks amazing.
 
Love the photo of the baby with his parents and grandpa. :flowers: Hope to see a pic of the baby up close in the future. The queen looks radiant and happy. Can't wait for a name as well.
 
We don't get to see his face, I hope it will come soon, lovely pic anyway !
 
Marriage customs in Bhutan are really strange!!! It`s not only allowing polygamy but also permits marring sisters at the same time.
Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck (the father of current king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ) married his four queens (Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck and Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck) who are the daughters of Yab Ugyen Dorji on the same day. Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck is the queen mother.
 
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Rossina said:
Marriage customs in Bhutan are really strange!!! It`s not only allowing polygamy but also permits marring sisters at the same time.
Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck (the father of current king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ) married his four queens (Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck and Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck) who are the daughters of Yab Ugyen Dorji on the same day. Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck is the queen mother.
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The current king and his grandfather are the only 2 of 5 kings of Bhutan who didn't practice polygamy.

Marrying sisters seems to have been quite common in parts of Bhutan. And Polyandry is/was acceptable in the south (a woman with more than 1 husband). The point of marrying siblings seems to have been so the family land didn't need to be divided between siblings into smaller parcels.
 
Countessmeout said:
The current king and his grandfather are the only 2 of 5 kings of Bhutan who didn't practice polygamy.

Marrying sisters seems to have been quite common in parts of Bhutan. And Polyandry is/was acceptable in the south (a woman with more than 1 husband). The point of marrying siblings seems to have been so the family land didn't need to be divided between siblings into smaller parcels.
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Oh, queen Jetsun Pema must be lucky since her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck said he is not planning for another wife. BTW, her elder sister is married to the king`s full brother Prince Jigme Dorji.
Such marriages create complex & complicated relationships IMO . I wonder how do the four sisters feel ?? .. sharing one husband.Their kids also are brothers & first cousins at the same time.
 
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Rossina said:
Oh, queen Jetsun Pema must be lucky since her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck said he is not planning for another wife. BTW, her elder sister is married to the king`s full brother Prince Jigme Dorji.
Such marriages create complex & complicated relationships IMO . I wonder how do the four sisters feel ?? .. sharing one husband.Their kids also are brothers & first cousins at the same time.
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I can only imagine. The four queens have a fifth sister, as I see them listed as 2nd-5th daughters of their dad. I wonder if the first daughter died young or already was married :ermm:

Bhutan has the only living king's grandmother. The king's grandmother (like Jetsun, she was an only wife)is 86, and seems to be still pretty active in royal work. So we have 1 queen, 1 king's mother, three former queens and a king's grandmother.
 
Rossina said:
Oh, queen Jetsun Pema must be lucky since her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck said he is not planning for another wife. BTW, her elder sister is married to the king`s full brother Prince Jigme Dorji.
Such marriages creates complex & complicated relationships IMO . I wonder how do the four sisters feel ?? .. sharing one husband.Their kids also are brothers & first cousins at the same time.
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I understand your point and I don't agree with polygamy. But maybe it's a cultural thing. When you are born on a country which doesn't allow polygamy it certaintly looks strange, but people in Bhutan weren't raise like us. If you look in the past, Emperors or Kings had more than one wife (not christian) and some had concubines. By expanding their family, the King will have more heirs, thus securing the throne (in case of war, disease, etc.). Besides that, it is also a way for the King to have many alliances with strong households by marrying daughters of influencial lords. It doesn't happen too often now in the current century, but don't forget that Bhutan only started to "open doors to the western world" not to long ago.

Maybe they don't feel jealousy at all? You need to see it in a cultural point of view. As long as I know, they all are good with each other, and each of them had children of their own.

The new King, while trying to keep the traditions of Bhutan, he is more westernized than his predecessors (study aboard, etc.), and it results on expanding his views on the world and people. Besides, he truly loves his wife as he said before and Jetsun Pema will be his only wife.
 
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kathia_sophia said:
I understand your point and I don't agree with polygamy. But maybe it's a cultural thing. When you are born on a country which doesn't allow polygamy it certaintly looks strange, but people in Bhutan weren't raise like us. If you look in the past, Emperors or Kings had more than one wife (not christian) and some had concubines. By expanding their family, the King will have more heirs, thus securing the throne (in case of war, disease, etc.). Besides that, it is also a way for the King to have many alliances with strong households by marrying daughters of influencial lords. It doesn't happen too often now in the current century, but don't forget that Bhutan only started to "open doors to the western world" not to long ago.

Maybe they don't feel jealousy at all? You need to see it in a cultural point of view. As long as I know, they all are good with each other, and each of them had children of their own.

The new King, while trying to keep the traditions of Bhutan, he is more westernized than his predecessors (study aboard, etc.), and it results on expanding his views on the world and people. Besides, he truly loves his wife as he said before and Jetsun Pema will be his only wife.
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In other cultures this is true, but in the case of Bhutan the current king's father married 4 sisters. So it wasn't that he was making alliances with several families. In the case of Bhutan, which allows polyandry in areas, it is more about keeping land within one family.

The new king is not alone. His grandfather only had 1 wife as well (she is still alive and well).

I think jealousy is probably pretty common. You hear stories about some former polygamist wives from the middle east, and there certainly was levels of jealousy. And sisters often have natural jealousy and competition between one another. It would be natural a bit seeped in.
 
Countessmeout said:
In other cultures this is true, but in the case of Bhutan the current king's father married 4 sisters. So it wasn't that he was making alliances with several families. In the case of Bhutan, which allows polyandry in areas, it is more about keeping land within one family.

The new king is not alone. His grandfather only had 1 wife as well (she is still alive and well).

I think jealousy is probably pretty common. You hear stories about some former polygamist wives from the middle east, and there certainly was levels of jealousy. And sisters often have natural jealousy and competition between one another. It would be natural a bit seeped in.
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I agree with you.
Jealousy must be double in their case specially when each of the four sisters was wishing or maybe struggling to have ( give birth to ) the heir to the throne. Only one of them could do that.
In addition to the cultural factor it may also be related to their religion (Buddhism). Compare to Bhutan polygamy in the the ME is totally different because it is governed by Islamic teachings which does not allow the combination of sisters as wives for one man at the same time.
 
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I wonder when will they announce the baby's name. I'm curious to know, even though Jigme will be 99% one of the names.
 
Rossina said:
I agree with you.
Jealousy must be double in their case specially when each of the four sisters was wishing or maybe struggling to have ( give birth to ) the heir to the throne. Only one of them could do that.
In addition to the cultural factor it may also be related to their religion (Buddhism). Compare to Bhutan polygamy in the the ME is totally different because it is governed by Islamic teachings which does not allow the combination of sisters as wives for one man at the same time.
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In Bhutan it is more a matter of civil code. Budhism doesn't as I understand it, have any laws set down in their religious code, regarding marriage. Its considered a social construct. For the laity it is encouraged for monogamy but there is no set rules.
 
:previous::D Never knew the queen and king were fans of Purple Rain. I wonder if their son will ever get tired of being known as Gyalsey Gyalsey and become the prince formerly known as prince :whistling:
 
I wonder if they will show a picture of the babies face? A lot of families are private about things like that. They usually wait till the kid is older before they share a pictures.
 
lucymae88 said:
I wonder if they will show a picture of the babies face? A lot of families are private about things like that. They usually wait till the kid is older before they share a pictures.
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It's true, but The King and Queen have been active on social media, and they release from time to time more personal pictures, so I'm optimist that the baby will appear in the March calender.
 
I'm a little late though congratulations to the King and Queen on the birth of their little son! :flowers:

It's a shame that they didn't release a photo where we could see his face better, but hopefully they will release one soon. The official photo we got was nice, though.
I'm hoping that William and Catherine will be able to meet the baby when they visit!
 
:previous:

I found this link giving some information about the customs when a baby is born in Bhutan:

A Way to Bhutan | Your Travel Specialists In Bhutan

It may well be a little different for royal babies - and of course, the information does not say how long after a child is born it's name is given or announced!
 
I really though that The Gyalsey was his name !
 
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