Tenzing Jigme Namgyal laid to rest

Gyalse (Prince) Tenzing Jigme Namgyal, the grandson of the 11th Chogyal Sir Tashi Namgyal, was on Wednesday laid to rest with full state honours at Lukshyama Royal Cremation Ground here.

The 61 year-old Gyalse (Prince) Tenzing Jigme Namgyal breathed his last on November 21 in Mumbai after a brief illness.

He is survived by his wife Sem Sangey Deki Namgyal and three children.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang was among the large number of people who bid a final goodbye to the scion of the erstwhile royal family of the state.

Earlier in the day Tamang also visited the bereaved family and offered his respects to the late Prince at their residence.

The Chogyal (Dharma Kings) were the monarchs of the former kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty. The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1973 and the constitutional monarch from 1973 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and the Sikkimese people voted in a referendum to make Sikkim the 22nd state of India.