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Meet the world's youngest queen, 27-year-old Jetsun Pema of Bhutan

Monarch and her partner have been described as the Will and Kate of the Himalayas 

Rosie Fitzmaurice
Monday 11 December 2017 19:53 GMT
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The empress has held her position since 2011
The empress has held her position since 2011 (Getty Images)

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Jetsun Pema, 27, is the world's youngest living queen.

She took the throne at the age of 21 in 2011, when she married King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, now 37.

The couple — who have a 1-year-old son, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck — have both studied in England, share a love of art, and were once dubbed the Will and Kate of The Himalayas.

Speaking about his wife, the king once told local reporters: "I have been waiting for quite some time to get married. But it doesn't matter when you get married as long as it is to the right person. I am certain I am married to the right person."

Meet Jetsun Pema, the youngest queen on the planet.

Jetsun Pema became queen of the kingdom of Bhutan in October 2011, at just 21, when she married 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, also known as the Dragon King.

Pema and her partner married in 2011 Getty Images
Pema and her partner married in 2011 Getty Images

Before taking the throne, the queen attended Regent's College in London, where she studied international relations, psychology, and art history. The couple apparently share a love of art.

 

A student offers a painting of Their Majesties and The Gyalsey #KingJigmeKhesar #QueenJetsunPema #Gyalsey #Bhutan #Blessed #Punakha #Painting

A post shared by Her Majesty Queen Jetsun Pema (@her_majesty_queen_of_bhutan) on

The popular king, also a young monarch, studied at Oxford University.

The queen had an extravagant wedding which included framing a giant portrait of her and her husband Getty Images
The queen had an extravagant wedding which included framing a giant portrait of her and her husband Getty Images

More than 50,000 Bhutanese citizens attended the final day of wedding celebrations at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

The wedding was attended by many Getty Images
The wedding was attended by many Getty Images

Their union has been described as a love marriage, with Pema portrayed as a "commoner by the secretariat. The Washington Post reported that "in one version of events, the two met at a picnic when she was 7 and he was 17; she reportedly came up to him and gave him a hug."

However, her family apparently has long-term links with the royals. She is the daughter of a pilot, but her paternal great-grandfather was lord of the eastern province of Tashigang, and her maternal grandfather was the half-brother of the wife of Bhutan's second king, according to The Post.

 

6 November 2017, Thimphu: Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen graced a celebration to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol- a United Nations treaty to take steps to protect the ozone layer. Dignitaries and senior officials from the government, UN and private sector also attended the event, which organized by National Environment Commission (NEC). The Montreal Protocol has been the most successful environment treaty of the United Nations, and the only one to receive universal endorsement- where 197 member states unanimously came together to phasing out chemicals that were damaging the Ozone Layer. As a result, more than 99 percent of nearly 100 ozone-depleting chemicals have been phased out, and this has also significantly contributed to climate change mitigation. Protecting the Ozone Layer remains an important endeavor, and these efforts have been bolstered by Her Majesty’s support as the UNEP Ozone Ambassador. The lesson from the success Protocol is being used in efforts to achieve similar collective action for climate change today. A Coffee Table book on 25 Years of Partnership for Environment Conservation, documenting the achievements of the last 25 years, was launched during the event. Refrigeration and Air Condition equipment (RAC) was also handed over to Ministry of Labour and Human Resources to assist the RAC curriculum. In commemoration of the anniversary, the Motithang Park in Thimphu was declared an ‘Ozone Park’. With the support from Thimphu Thromde, the park has been remodeled into an ozone advocacy park, providing information on ozone history and countries’ initiatives for ozone layer protection ever since the ozone hole was discovered in early 1980s. #HerMajesty #QueenJetsunPema #QueenofBhutan #MontrealProtocol #Environment #UNEP #OzoneAmbassador #OzonePark #Thimphu #Bhutan

A post shared by Her Majesty Queen Jetsun Pema (@her_majesty_queen_of_bhutan) on

She's known for her charity work for organisations like the Bhutan Red Cross Society, Ability Bhutan Society, and Bhutan Kidney Association.

 

8 May 2017: Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen graced the launch of the Bhutan Red Cross Society, coinciding with the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Day. Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen Addressed the event (full speech and Royal photographs on www.facebook.com/QueenJetsun). The launch was attended by the Prime Minister Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay, Her Excellency Annemarie Huber-Hotz, the Vice President of the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent, as well as the regional heads of the IFRC and ICRC. The World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day is observed globally on the birth anniversary of the founder, Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman born in 1828. This year, the theme for the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is ‘Everywhere for Everyone’. The Bhutan Red Cross Society (BCRS) is an autonomous and not-for–profit organization established under the Bhutan Red Cross Society Act 2016. It is a voluntary aid society, auxiliary to the public authorities in the humanitarian field, having the mandates to save lives, protect livelihoods and strengthen recovery from disasters; to enable healthy and safe living; and to promote social inclusion and culture of care and protection. The BRCS is part of a network of the movement with 190 countries having an establishment of a Red Cross or a Red Crescent National Society. The BCRS strives to establish a network of members and volunteers in communities throughout Bhutan to provide services in the areas of social inclusion, health, and disaster risk management that are complimentary to those of the Royal Government and other organizations. Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen is the President of the Bhutan Red Cross Society. #HerMajesty #QueenJetsunPema #QueenofBhutan #BhutanRedCrossSociety #RedCross #World #RedCrossRedCrescentday #HenryDunant #founder #IFRC #ICRC #inauguration #humanitarian #values #volunteerism #equality #Thimphu #Bhutan

A post shared by Her Majesty Queen Jetsun Pema (@her_majesty_queen_of_bhutan) on

Despite her royal duties, she appears to be a hands-on mother.

She gave birth to the royal couple's first child, a son named Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, in February 2016.

The king, who also appears to be an involved father, once told reporters: "I have been waiting for quite some time to get married. But it doesn't matter when you get married as long as it is to the right person. I am certain I am married to the right person."

 

The entire country is glowing emerald with lush fields of paddy and maize in the balmy summer months. Crops begin to ripen, and all hands are busy in the villages, tending to the farms. Colours and scents overwhelm visitors to markets that are overflowing cornucopias of fruits and vegetables. We celebrate July with this precious photograph of our King and Prince in a glowing field of maize in Dungkhar, Lhuentse. His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen visited eastern Bhutan in June, and introduced His Royal Highness The Gyalsey to the people. In Dungkhar, the ancestral home of the Wangchuck Dynasty, from where Jigme Namgyel, the father of our first Monarch, set out to forever change the fate of Bhutan, it touched the hearts of everyone who witnessed the magical moment to see the past and present converge, when Gyalsey Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck returned. #HisMajesty #KingJigmeKhesar #HRHTheGyalsey #Prince #JigmeNamgyelWangchuck #precious #dynasty #Dungkhar #maize #field #summer #beautiful #Bhutan #desktopcalendar #yellow.bt

A post shared by Her Majesty Queen Jetsun Pema (@her_majesty_queen_of_bhutan) on

"She is a wonderful human being, intelligent," he told reporters. "She and I share one big thing in common: a love and passion for art."

In April 2016, the king and queen welcomed the duke and duchess of Cambridge on a royal visit. The Bhutanese royals were once nicknamed the Will and Kate of the Himalayas.

They most recently visited New Delhi, India, in October, where their 1-year-old son reportedly melted hearts — and it's not hard to see why.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.

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