Wangchuk Namgyal should not be confused with Wangchuk Namgyel.
Tobgyal Wangchuk Tenzing Namgyal | |
Succession: | Head of the Royal House of Sikkim |
Reign: | 29 January 1982 – present |
Reign-Type: | Tenure |
Predecessor: | Palden Thondup Namgyal |
Birth Date: | 1 April 1953 |
Birth Place: | Gangtok, Kingdom of Sikkim |
House: | Namgyal |
House-Type: | Dynasty |
Father: | Palden Thondup Namgyal |
Religion: | Buddhism |
Chogyal Wangchuk Tenzing Namgyal (Sikkimese: ; Wylie: stobs-rgyal dbang-phyug bstan-'dzin rnam-rgyal; born 1 April 1953) is the second son of Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last sovereign king of Sikkim. Educated at Harrow, he is also the present heir of the Namgyal dynasty and pretender to the throne of Sikkim.[1]
On February 19, 1982, following the death of his father, he was crowned at Tsuklakhang Palace. The Government of India did not recognize this coronation,[2] though the 3rd Chief Minister of Sikkim, B. B. Gurung, recognized him as the 13th Chogyal.[3] Namgyal subsequently became a monastic recluse.[2] On May 22, 2023, he joined the grand celebration of the last Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal's 100th birth anniversary in Gangtok.[4]