Nov 30, 2009, 6:28 GMT
Bangkok - Two important events marking the 82nd birthday in early December of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, have been indefinitely postponed, his principal private secretary said Monday.
A parade in which the revered monarch takes the salute of the military has been put off for the first time for decades, and the king's birthday speech has also been postponed, said the royal office.
King Bhumibol, widely seen as a critical stabilizing force in an often turbulent society, has been hospitalized since mid-September.
He is due to be represented at other ceremonies by his heir apparent Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Hundreds of thousands of people have signed get-well wishes at tables set up in the hospital and millions more have signed books set up in government offices around the country.
Bhumibol, who will turn 82 on December 5, has been hospitalized on several occasions over the past decade to receive treatment for heart ailments and fever.
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