Cambodia's new king arrives home

King Sihamoni and his father received a warm welcome

Cambodia's new King Norodom Sihamoni has arrived home in Phnom Penh ahead of his coronation next week.

The king travelled from Beijing with his father, Sihanouk, who abdicated two weeks ago citing poor health.

Cambodia's government has declared a national holiday to celebrate the king's return.

Thousands of flag-waving school children lined the streets from Phnom Penh's airport to the palace to welcome the royal party.

The group was also met at the airport by Cambodia's top political leaders, including Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh - the new king's half-brother and head of the National Assembly.

Wednesday's royal homecoming is an historic occasion for the Cambodian people, according to the BBC South East Asia correspondent Kylie Morris.

Not only is the new king arriving back home, but so too is the revered former king, Sihanouk, and his wife Queen Monineath.

CAMBODIAN SUCCESSION Nine-member throne council approved nomination Laws for deciding succession had to be rushed through King Sihamoni was former king's preferred candidate Elder half-brother Ranariddh said he did not want the post Profile of King Sihamoni

Sihanouk has spent most of the past nine months in Beijing - receiving medical treatment and living in self-imposed exile in protest at the seemingly endless disagreements between Cambodia's political parties.

In recent months King Sihamoni also went to Beijing to look after his ailing father.

The royal party will be taken to the palace amid tight security, with well-wishers lining the route.

In honour of the new king's interest in classical Khmer dance, several performances have been scheduled in various parts of Phnom Penh.

In preparation for King Sihamoni's arrival in the capital, there has been a huge public relations campaign to inform Cambodians about their new monarch.

Large posters of the new king have been placed on billboards across the city.

King Sihamoni is much less known than his half-brother Prince Ranariddh, who heads the royalist political party Funcinpec.

In contrast the former king, Sihanouk, is widely known and revered after 60 years on the throne.

He is still likely to remain influential even after his son is officially inaugurated on 29 October, according to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Kylie Morris.

In order to honour the departing monarch, the Cambodian government has declared that from now on the 81-year-old will be known as The Great Heroic King Sihanouk.

Smooth transition

King Sihamoni's appointment went unusually smoothly for Cambodia, a nation with a turbulent recent history.

Earlier this month Sihanouk abdicated due to ill health, sparking a constitutional crisis.

There was no legal provision in the event of a monarch's abdication, and laws had to be rushed through parliament to enable a throne council to convene and choose a successor.

But it soon became obvious that King Sihamoni was the front running candidate.

He was backed by his father, as well as his half-brother Prince Ranariddh and the powerful Prime Minister Hun Sen.

One of the new monarch's strengths is that he is seen as being apolitical.

Until recently, he has spent much of his time in France, as the director of several ballet troupes and as Cambodia's ambassador to the UN cultural agency, Unesco.

While Cambodian kings used to have great authority, the position is now largely symbolic and wields no real power.

But it remains an important position because of the reverence Cambodian people give to the royal family.