Mass display of grief on late Thai king’s birthday

People gather during an event to mark late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday at Bhumibol Bridge over Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, Thailand on December 5, 2016. -Reuters

BANGKOK: Thousands of Thais gathered on a Bangkok bridge named after the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on what would have been his birthday Monday, the latest organised mass display of grief in a divided nation adjusting to life without him.

For much of his remarkable seven decade reign, Bhumibol’s 5 December birthday was an auspicious moment for Thais with the monarch often delivering key speeches offering social -- and sometimes distinctly political -- guidance in a nation buffeted by years of coups and instability.