Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, Bhutan's 31-year-old Oxford-educated king, to wed 20-year-old 'commoner' Jestun Pema.
Pema comes from Bhutan's influential Bumthang Pangtey family. As a child, she studied in St Joseph's Convent, Kalimpong, till class 5. She joined Lawrence in 2006 and completed her plus-2 in 2008. She is currently studying at Regents College in London.
The King announced the news of the impending wedding which will be in less than six months, during the opening session of parliament on Friday in Thimpu. "As king,it is now time for me to marry," he said.
"To me, she is the one," the king was quoted as saying, which many papers joked was a cheeky reference to his father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who married four sisters.
They made their first public appearance on Friday night in Thimpu's India House, at the Mountain Echoes literary festival.
In Bhutan, Wangchuck is dubbed as "the people's king," while in Thailand, the press apparently nicknamed him "Prince Charming" after a 2006 visit. A website wrote that he had pipped India's "crown prince, Rahul Gandhi", to a wedding announcement!
According to Bhutan's official newspaper, chairperson of the upper house of parliament Namgay Penjore said that in a year, "the people of Bhutan would expect an heir." Royal pressure, eh?
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