Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema left Japan after wrapping up their six-day visit as state guests Sunday.
Before leaving from Kansai International Airport in Osaka, the royal couple visited the Sento Imperial Palace in Kyoto and took a 30-minute walk in its garden, enjoying autumn colors and taking pictures of themselves in front of a pond.
The couple arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday and later met with Crown Prince Naruhito and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his wife. While attending a series of ceremonies including a state banquet, they also visited Fukushima Prefecture to encourage people affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis triggered by the disaster.
The royal couple apparently met when aged seventeen and seven respectively at a family picnic in Thimphu.
The then-prince got down on his knees and said "when you grow up, if I am single and not married and if you are single and not married, I would like you to be my wife, provided we still feel the same," he told students in August of the current year.
Her natural beauty and elegance and her colourful traditional outfits have helped Bhutan's Queen Jetsun Pema become the new fashion icon of the Orient.
And the 21-year-old royal, who has become an ambassador for the ethnic style of her tiny Himalayan state, did her people proud on an official visit to Japan.
Jesun and her husband King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck were welcomed to Toyko's Imperial Palace by Crown Prince Naruhito.
The prince was stepping in for his absent father, Emperor Akihito, who has been hospitalised with bronchitis symptoms.
Also at the welcome ceremony was Empress Michiko and her younger son Prince Akishimo and his wife Princess Kiko.
Naruhito's wife, Crown Princess Masako, who has been affected by a stress-induced illness, was absent.
At a banquet in the evening, Naruhito praised the couple's state, saying Japan could learn a lot from the way it was governed.
He was referring to Bhutan's gross national happiness index – which requires the government to measure citizens' contentment rather their material wealth.
King Jigme and his wife, who wed in an elaborate marriage ceremony last October, promised to spend their honeymoon working, and that's exactly what they've done.
Their Japan trip marks pilot's daughter Jetsun's second major trip overseas as queen after the couple visited India.
They are the first state visitors to be welcomed to Japan since the March earthquakes and tsunami.
At exactly 8.20am – a time ordained by astrologers – the fifth Dragon King of Bhutan proceeded up the steps of the country's most sacred monastic fortress in the ancient capital Punakha on the way to greet his bride.
Monks chanted in celebration as King Jigme Khesar Namguyal Wangchuk, 31, placed an embroidered silk brocade crown on her head, making her the new queen of this tiny Himalayan nation.
Thousands came down from the surrounding mountains to celebrate his wedding to pilot's daughter Jetsun Pema with three days of dancing.
The focus of the festivities was the ancient capital of Punakha, where in 2008, he was installed in some splendour on a golden throne.
But make no mistake, despite his elaborate floral robe and royal sash, this union is not merely the traditional match that it seems.
Oxford-educated, with slicked-back hair and matinee idol looks, the king has forged his own path ever since his revered father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated in his favour, under plans to usher in democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
He often invites ordinary folk around for tea and mingles freely with them at public functions much to the exasperation of his security team.
And unlike the elder Wangchuk, who wed four sisters in a polygamous ceremony, the "prince charming of the Himalayas", as he is affectionately called, is marrying for love.
He and his 21-year-old bride lived together for eight months before the nuptials.
Her husband's subjects know little about Jetsun. However, her dazzling looks and CV – she studied in London and is pursuing a degree in international relations – would seem to make her a worthy addition to the royal family.
And locals have noted her effect on their monarch. He holds her hand in public and talks openly of his love for her.
Watching the dancing in their honour, one villager, named Pema Gyeltshen, summed up the nation's joy, saying: "I have longed for this celebration, and here it is."
So quite clearly had his sovereign. When one well-wisher asked how it felt to be married, the groom said: "Are you married yourself?"
Learning that she wasn't, he responded: "It's great; you should try it yourself."
And there will be another royal wedding this year! 31-year-old King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will be getting married in October as it was announced today, as he opened his country's parliament.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, King Jigme Khesar "revealed his intention to marry 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema during an address to parliament".
Jetsun, a very beautiful young girl yet a commoner, was born in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, on June 4th, 1990.
He "is an Oxford-educated (now) bachelor crowned in the remote Himalayan country in 2008".
As a King, he has also been helping "usher in democracy in the Buddhist nation". He declared as he announced his decision that "as king, it is now time for me to marry. After much thought I have decided that the wedding shall be later this year"
According to Hello Magazine, he also added that "people might think that my queen should be highly educated, beautiful and best of the best". He said with a huge smile on his face. "Jetsun Pema is a kind-hearted girl who is very supportive and whom I can trust. I don't know what my people will say about her, but I find her complete with all the qualities a woman needs to have."
The couple are set to wed in October. I am sure it will be colourful and lavish! Congratulations to the young couple!
