The King & Queen attend a ceremony in the Palace, swearing in a new cabinet minister. A holy lama summons the dieties [i.e., deities]

Photograph shows King Palden Thondup Namgyal and Queen Hope Cooke at a swearing-in ceremony for a new minister of education, with a lama and his consort, at the palace in Gangtok, Sikkim.

Caption on related photograph (LOT 14032-6, no. 064): The King of Sikkim & the Queen at a swearing in ceremony in the palace main receiving room. The minister of education (left) is being sworn in. A Lama (priest) is summoning the deities to be present, his consort is at his side. He is offering prayers and millet beer.
Photographer's stamp on back of print.
Forms part of: Dr. Alice S. Kandell Collection of Sikkim Photographs (Library of Congress).
Gift; Dr. Alice S. Kandell; 2010; (DLC/PP-2010:106).

Palden Thondup Namgyal was the hereditary ruler of the independent Kingdom of Sikkim, located in the eastern Himalayas. He ruled the kingdom from 1963 to 1975, when it was annexed by India. Queen Hope Cooke was an American woman who became the queen consort of Sikkim through her marriage to Palden Thondup Namgyal in 1963. She was a controversial figure in Sikkimese politics.