In ceremony laced with Hindu and Buddhist rituals, Thailand crowns King Vajiralongkorn its new divine monarch

Starting at the auspicious time of 10:09 am (0309 GMT), the sombre ceremony opened with the white-gowned king -- the folds of his robe leaving one shoulder bared -- receiving sacred water from across Thailand and dabbing it gently across his face at a shrine inside the Grand Palace complex.

The coronation rituals were a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries.

The king later changed into a full uniform and took a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hand in an anointment ritual.

During the ceremonies, the king gave alms to saffron-robed, barefoot monks.

The waters used in the two rituals were collected from 117 sources last month, blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country, before they were combined and consecrated.

A cannon salute marked the moment as pipes played and Buddhist monks chanted.

Several grey-haired Hindu Brahmins were also in attendance at the syncretic ceremony, which symbolises Rama X's transformation from a human to a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods.

He later took his seat under the umbrella of state and was handed the Great Crown of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) headpiece topped by a diamond from India.

The high-reaching crown symbolises the summit of Mount Meru, the Hindu god Indra's heavenly abode, and its weight represents the monarch's royal burden.

King Vajiralongkorn put the crown on his head himself with the help of court officials and adjusted it several times during the ceremony.

Uttering his first, brief royal command he vowed to reign "with righteousness" for the benefit of the Thai people.

Outside the palace walls, a sea of people in yellow polo shirts sat on roadsides, holding up portraits of the king and the Thai national flag.

Yellow is particularly significant in Thai culture, which is steeped in astrology, as it is the colour of Monday, the day the king was born, and also the colour of the sun, which represents the monarch in the cosmos.

King Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782.

He ascended the throne over two years ago following the death of his beloved father but waited until after a long mourning period before setting his coronation date.

For most Thais, it is the first time they have witnessed the pomp and grandeur of a coronation -- the last was in 1950 for the king's beloved father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom until his death in October 2016.

Fiercely private and four times married, Thai King has inherited one of the world's richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged by political crisis.

Later on Saturday evening, the king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done.