King and Queen of Bhutan welcome baby boy amid coronavirus crisis, ask people to be 'mindful and supportive'
The king and queen of Bhutan welcomed a baby boy on March 19.
Forty-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife, 29-year-old Queen Jetsu Pema, took to Instagram to make the announcement alongside a message urging the public to be "mindful and supportive" amid the coronavirus outbreak.
So far, Bhutan has just one confirmed case of coronavirus but the pair asked their people to be "responsible" amidst the global spread of the virus. The couple already has one son, Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, 3, who is "delighted" to meet his younger brother.
The couple did not share a picture of their newborn or announce his name. They shared a family photograph and captioned it, "We are honoured to announce the birth of the second Royal Child of Their Majesties The King and Queen, a Prince, on the 19 of March 2020, corresponding with the 25th day of the 1st month of the Male Iron Rat year, in Lingkana Palace, Thimphu."
"Her Majesty and the royal baby are in good health, and His Royal Highness The Gyalsey was delighted to meet his younger brother. Their Majesties express their gratitude to the medical team, the Zhung Dratshang and to everyone for their well-wishes and prayers," the post read.
"While this remains a very happy occasion for the Royal family and the nation and people of Bhutan, Their Majesties wish to remind all Bhutanese to be mindful, responsible and supportive to each other in the wake of the COVID-19 virus," the post continued.
The couple's eldest son, who is also known as the Dragon Prince, is the heir to the Bhutanese throne. King Jigme who is also called the Dragon King had studied in the UK and the US and taken the throne when he was just 26 after his father abdicated.
King Jigme plans to have a monogamous marriage, unlike his father who has four wives (all sisters who he married on the same day). The current king has made it clear he plans to have just one wife, whom he had married on October 13, 2011.
At the time, the queen had been an international relations student at Regent's college in London. The couple made headlines as King Jigme was a lot more affectionate with his wife than Bhutanese were used to. Hence, the pair had been dubbed "the William and Kate of the Himalayas".
His public displays of affection were very well received by young people with many choosing to follow the young king's example. Recently, King Jigme celebrated his 40th birthday on February 21. For his birthday, he asked the people of Bhutan either to plant a tree, adopt a stray animal or clean up their neighborhood in his honor.
Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering announced that "personal commitment such as this … would be the best gift for His Majesty." This is not the first time that the king has asked his people to plant trees on his behalf; back in 2016, he and the queen celebrated the birth of their firstborn by asking people to plant a sapling. This led to more than 108,000 trees being planted in the country.