Royal title given to King Father Norodom Sihanouk

Workers prepare to hang up a portrait of the late King Norodom Sihanouk in 

Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

The King of Cambodia officially anointed the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk with the royal title of Preah Borum Rattanak Kod at the Royal Palace yesterday, where his body has lain in state for 46 days. 

Prince Sisowath Thomico, advisor to the royal cabinet and former secretary of the king, said that the nomination is a court tradition in which the king is offered a new name following his passing. 

“King Sisowath was also given a new royal name, Preah Sovan Kod,” Thomico said. 

Historian Ros Chantrabuth, a lecturer at the Royal University of Law and Economics, said the king of Cambodia is customarily offered three royal names – the first comes when he is born, the second marks his ascension to the throne and the third is given after death. 

During the groundbreaking ceremony for the Stung Meanchey skybridge on November 26, Prime Minister Hun Sen officially announced that the new name would be bestowed at the beginning of the Water Festival. 

He said that Sihanouk’s body will be cremated February 4, three days after it is escorted from the Royal Palace in a procession back to a crematorium on Meru field in front of the National Museum. 

Sihanouk passed away on October 15 at the age of 89 in Beijing.