BANGKOK, October 13 (Reuters) - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was the world's longest-reigning monarch, died in hospital on Thursday, the palace said in an announcement. He was 88.
King Bhumibol reigned for seven decades after ascending the throne in 1946. His loss will be deeply mourned in Thailand, where he was regarded as a pillar of stability during decades of political upheaval and rapid development.
The palace did not give a reason for his death but he has been sick in hospital with various ailments for much of the past year.
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1929: Mom Sangwal Mahidol na Ayudhya with her children Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej (centre), Prince Ananda Mahidol and Princess Galyani VadhanaBureau of the Royal Household, Kingdom of Thailand[/caption]
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25 November 1996: King Bhumibol Adulyadej shakes hands with US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as President Bill Clinton looks on during their meeting at Chitrlada Palace in Bangkok. Reuters[/caption]
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8 August 1988: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is visited by Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Chitralada Palace in Bangkok. Reuters[/caption]
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19 July 1960: King Bhumibol Adulyadej and wife Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara pose with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in London. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images[/caption]
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1945: Bhumibol Adulyadej with Princess Mother Sri Sangwal and Princess Galyani Vadhana at the Villa Vadhana, their private residence in Lausanne, SwitzerlandBureau of the Royal Household, Kingdom of Thailand[/caption]
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Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej arrives to preside over the unveiling ceremony for the King Rama VIII monument in Bangkok June 9, 2012. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo[/caption]
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5 December 1999: King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Sirikit appear on a balcony of Anantasamakom Throne Hall to mark the king's 72nd birthday. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP[/caption]
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28 October 1996: Royal guards shade Queen Elizabeth II and King Bhumibol Adulyadej from the sun during a welcoming ceremony at Bangkok military airport during the British royals' five-day visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Thai king's accession to the throne Reuters[/caption]
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22 October 2003: Russian President Vladimir Putinand his wife Lyudmila pose with Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit at the Grand Palace in Bangkok Grigory Dukor/Reuters[/caption]
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25 November 1996: King Bhumibol Adulyadej shakes hands with US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as President Bill Clinton looks on during their meeting at Chitrlada Palace in Bangkok Reuters[/caption]
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4 November 1999: King Bhumibol Adulyadej sits on the Royal Barge during a procession on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok to celebrate his 72nd birthday Reuters[/caption]
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19 October 2003: US President George W Bush toasts with Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej as they take part in a State Dinner at the Royal Grand Palace in Bangkok Jason Reed/Reuters[/caption]
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29 September 2010: Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej goes for a concert at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok Damir Sagolj/Reuters[/caption]
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9 March 2005: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra prostrates himself before a picture of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej after receiving the royal command(Reuters)[/caption]
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12 June 2006: Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn greets Britain's Prince Andrew as King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit look on at Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok, during the Thai monarch's Diamond Jubilee celebrations Reuters[/caption]
"His Majesty has passed away at Siriraj Hospital peacefully," the palace said, adding he died at 15:52 (0852 GMT).
His son and heir apparent, the 63-year old Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, is expected to become Thailand's new king.
Parliament was due to meet in a special session later on Thursday after a meeting of the cabinet, a legislature official said.
Anxiety about the king's health and the succession has formed the backdrop to over a decade of political upheaval in Thailand that has included two coups.
More than 1,000 people gathered at the hospital where the king had been staying. Many of them started to cry as the news of his death broke.
"I feel so saddened by this news. He has given so many things to the country," said Apinut Jaroonpipatkul, a 25-year-old medical student.
King Bhumibol was seen as a force for unity, and there have long been concerns that without him the country's divisions could worsen.
That seems unlikely under the military government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has kept a tight grip on power since toppling an elected government in 2014.
Prince Vajiralongkorn has yet to command the respect and adoration that his father drew after a lifetime on the throne.
He has kept a lower profile than King Bhumibol for most of his life but in the past two years took on more of the public duties the king was no longer able to perform. The prince divorced his third wife in 2014.
Thailand's strict lese-majeste laws has left little room for public discussion about the succession. It has been so long since Thailand has had a succession, there is no modern precedent.
Thailand is expected to be in mourning for months and possibly longer, and the prince's coronation will not take place until that mourning period is over. When the king's sister died in 2008, a 100-day mourning period was declared. She was cremated 10 months after her death.
The king was seen as head of an institution central to Thai identity and as a father-figure to the nation.
