Bhutan king Jigme Wangchuk marries commoner Jetsun Pema

The 31-year-old king of the Himalayan nation of Bhutan has married his commoner bride in a Buddhist ceremony at a 17th Century monastery.

The British-educated Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck came down from his throne to place a crown upon the head of 20-year-old student Jetsun Pema.

As the monks chanted, the king returned to the seat and Ms Pema sat upon the throne beside him as the new queen.

Wangchuck is widely revered in the country of some 700,000 people.

After a brief ceremony, the king and his bride held hands and walked into the monastery.

An hour of blessings and prayers marked the marriage ceremony, reports said.

There were no visiting heads of states, foreign princes or celebrities at the wedding, which was mainly attended by the royal family and broadcast live on national TV, reports said.

"The whole theme of the wedding was to keep it a simple family affair, that is the Bhutanese family," Kinley Dorji, Bhutan's secretary of information told the Associated Press news agency.

The king, who has been educated in India and Britain, took over after the abdication in 2006 of his father, who began the country's democratic transition.

In March 2008, Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy and the king relinquished his absolute powers.

A biography released by the palace listed the new queen's interests as fine arts, painting and basketball.