Thailand honors king on his 80th birthday

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thais celebrated their revered king's 80th birthday Wednesday, honoring the world's longest-reigning monarch with festivities and prayers amid concerns about his declining health and potentially divisive elections.

Tens of thousands of people, many wearing yellow -- the color that symbolizes devotion to the monarch -- packed the streets around the Grand Palace where King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a rare public appearance from the balcony of his ceremonial Throne Hall. It was only the sixth such appearance in his 61-year reign.

Bhumibol's birthday has increasingly become a day of nationwide tribute to the U.S.-born king, who is regarded the most influential figure in modern Thai history and the key to its stability.

This year's celebration was clouded by nationwide anxiety over Bhumibol's health after he was hospitalized recently for symptoms of a stroke, concerns about his eventual successor and uncertainty over elections Dec. 23.

The balloting will be the first since a September 2006 military coup toppled the elected government of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following demonstrations demanding his resignation over alleged corruption and abuse of power. The military-installed regime that succeeded him has failed to restore public confidence.

The unity of the nation has become Bhumibol's recurring theme in recent speeches.

"I am glad that everyone has come together in unison to give me birthday wishes," he told a crowd of well-wishers, seated on a golden throne and dressed in a gold brocade robe.

Thais see the king as a national unifier, and his profile has been high during the past two years of government upheaval.

Although he is a constitutional monarch with no formal political role, he is regarded as the force that holds the country together. Bhumibol has stilled uprisings, weathered military coups and has reigned through scores of governments, democratic and dictatorial.

Bhumibol was born Dec. 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Mass., where his father, Prince Mahidol, was studying medicine at Harvard University. At age 19, he became the ninth king of Thailand's Chakri dynasty on June 9, 1946, after his older brother Ananda died from a mysterious gunshot to the head.