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Early on Monday morning, October 15th, the people of Cambodia were shocked to learn that their beloved King Father - King Norodom Sihanouk - had died unexpectedly in Beijing of a heart attack. His Majesty had been in Beijing for several months for medical treatment but was in reasonable health. He and Her Majesty The Queen Mother were intending to fly back to Cambodia at the end of October to celebrate the King Father's birthday which is on October 31st. It was, therefore almost unbelievable to the people that King Sihanouk was no longer with them as all were looking forward to his return.
His Majesty was by anyone's standard a charismatic person who was crowned king twice and abdicated the throne twice as well. The first time was in the early 1950's when he abdicated passing the throne to his father King Suramarit so that Prince Sihanouk - as he then became - could take a leading part in the politics of the country. He became a forceful person on the world stage of politics and led his country to complete independence from France in 1953. He was asked to resume the throne in 1993 and remained King until in 2004 when he abdicated due to health reasons, in favour of his son, the present King Norodom Sihamoni.
Because of his work over the years for the country and his people and especially for his work in bringing independence, King Sihanouk has been revered by his people as a true father figure. He was not so loved by western nations who wanted to dominate the political scene here, and disliked the King's independent stance on many matters. He refused to be pressured into decisions of which he did not approve or did not think were for the good of the country and the people.
The extent of the peoples' love for their King Father was so evident when his body was flown back to Phnom Penh from Beijing. It had been expected that some one hundred thousand people would line the streets from the airport to the Royal Palace. It is, of course, well nigh impossible to calculate or count exactly how many turned out to watch the procession but estimates now say that the number far exceeded expectations and it is generally believed that up to 2-million people turned up to pay their respects to their beloved former monarch.
The precision and dignity of the procession carrying the body of the late king was impressive to say the least. A traditional float in the form of a golden swan carried the King's coffin which was preceded by a similar float carrying the monks who performed the religious rites. Their Majesties King Norodom Sihamoni and The Queen Mother who had flown back from Beijing with the King's body in the big Air China 747, followed behind in one of the Royal Palace limousines.
It was nothing short of an incredibly moving scene to observe the thousands of people - young and old - sitting in the hot blazing sun for hours waiting to pay their respects to their King Father. Then as the procession appeared total silence reigned. When the float carrying the coffin came by, the silence turned to crying and tears. I was there standing just outside the Palace gate and have to admit I too was moved to tears by the whole scenario.
My thoughts at this time are not only with the Cambodian people who came from all parts of the country to pay their respects and are still coming. As I write this two days later, they are outside the Palace in their hundreds praying for their King Father as well as for the Queen Mother and the present King. My thoughts and prayers also are for Her Majesty The Queen Mother - the most gracious lady you could meet - who for sixty years stood by her husband through good times and bad, and endured virtual imprisonment in the Palace for three years during the Pol Pot regime as well as for our present King Norodom Sihamoni who so unexpectedly came to the throne when his father abdicated in 2004 and who has turned to his father for advice on many occasions.
I feel honoured to have lived here during King Sihanouk's lifetime and to have learned how much he and The Queen Mother have contributed to the welfare of the wonderful Cambodian people. The world has lost one of the great statesmen of our time.
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