Pema Dechen

{{short description|Bhutanese queen}} {{Bhutanese Name}} {{Infobox royalty |consort = yes |name = Pema Dechen |image = Pema Dechen.jpg |caption = Pema Dechen in 1932 |succession = Queen consort of Bhutan |regent = Phuntsho Choden |reg-type = Co-Druk Gyaltsuen |reign = 1932 – 30 March 1952 |coronation = |full name = Pema Dechen Wangchuck<ref group=fn>Women in Bhutan retain their names upon marriage.</ref> |spouse = {{marriage|Jigme Wangchuck <br>|1932|1952|end=died}} |issue = Princess Choki Wangmo Wangchuck<br>Prince Namgyel Wangchuck<br>Princess Deki Yangzom Wangchuck<br>Princess Pema Choden Wangchuck |house = Wangchuck (by marriage) |father = ''Dasho'' Jamyang, ''Chumed Zhalgno''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abto.org.bt/destinations/bumthang/thukten-shedrup-dargay-choling/|title=Thukten Shedrup Dargay Choling – Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators|publisher=|access-date=2019-09-08|archive-date=2010-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924014703/http://www.abto.org.bt/destinations/bumthang/thukten-shedrup-dargay-choling/|url-status=dead}}</ref> |mother = ''Ashi'' Decho Dorji |birth_date = 1918 |birth_place = Wangducholing Palace, Bumthang |death_date = 1991 (aged 72–73) |death_place = Samchoeling Palace, Trongsa |place of burial = |religion = Buddhism }}

Ashi '''Pema Dechen''' (1918–1991) was the queen consort of Bhutan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Central Tibetan Administration Mourns the Demise of Bhutanese ''Gayum'' Phuntsho Choden|url=http://tibet.net/2003/08/26/central-tibetan-administration-mourns-the-demise-of-bhutanese-gayum-phuntsho-choden/|accessdate=15 September 2014|archive-date=15 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915074117/http://tibet.net/2003/08/26/central-tibetan-administration-mourns-the-demise-of-bhutanese-gayum-phuntsho-choden/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life== ''Ashi'' Pema Dechen was born in 1918 at Wangducholing Palace to ''Chumed Zhalgno'', ''Dasho'' Jamyang (of the Tamzhing Choji family – also known as the Myo family -) and ''Ashi'' Decho, daughter of ''Ashi'' Yeshay Choden (who was the sister of Druk Gyalpo ''Gongsar'' Ugyen Wangchuck).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=4808&t=1|title=Central Tibetan Administration Mourns the Demise of Bhutanese ''Gayum'' Phuntsho Choden|website=Phayul.com|access-date=2019-09-08|archive-date=2017-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119151600/http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=4808&t=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

She had two full-brothers and two full-sisters, and another half-siblings by the second marriages of her parents:

* ''Dasho'' Gonpo Dorji, ''Chumed Zhalgno''. * ''Ashi'' Phuntsho Choden (1911–2003). * ''Dasho'' Lam Nado (1920–1989). * ''Ashi'' Chimi.

From an early age, ''Ashi'' Pema Dechen received a traditional education.

==Marriage and family== She married Bhutan's second king, a cross cousin, Jigme Wangchuck, in 1932, when she was 14 years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262373968|title=WANGCHUCK DYNASTY. 100 Years of Enlightened Monarchy in Bhutan. Lham Dorji|publisher=}}</ref> They were second cousins and she was his second wife. ''Ashi'' Pema Dechen was the half-sister of the maternal grandfather of the current Queen of Bhutan, Jetsun Pema, and she was the great grandmother of the Fifth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

Her elder sister, ''Ashi'' Phuntsho Choden (1911–2003), was the first wife of her husband since 1923 when she was 12 years old, at Thinley Rabten Palace, Phodrang.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262373968|title=WANGCHUCK DYNASTY. 100 Years of Enlightened Monarchy in Bhutan. Lham Dorji|publisher=}}</ref>

Her children with the Second Druk Gyalpo were:

* Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Choki Wangmo Wangchuck (born 1937). * Prince (Druk Gyalsey) Namgyel Wangchuck, 26th ''Penlop'' of Paro (born 1943). * Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Deki Yangzom Wangchuck (born 1946). * Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Pema Choden Wangchuck (born 1949).

==Death== She died in 1991 at Samchoeling Palace.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/tshering.tashi.378/posts/mayum-pem-dechen-queen-of-the-second-druk-gyalpo-his-majesty-king-jigme-wangchuc/1888606001389434/ Painting of Queen ''Ashi'' Pema Dechen. Courtesy: Namden Dorji]</ref>

==Ancestry== {{ahnentafel |collapsed=yes |align=center |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |1= 1. '''Pema Dechen''' |2= 2. Jamyang, ''Chumed Zhalgno'' |3= 3. Decho Dorji |4= 4. Lamala |5= 5. Kunzang Lhamo |6= 6. Chimi Dorji, ''Dzongpon'' of Thimphu |7= 7. Yeshay Choden |8= |9= |10= |11= |12= 12. Pema Tenzin, ''Penlop'' of Jakar |13= 13. Lhamo |14= 14. Jigme Namgyal, 10th ''Trongsa Penlop'' and 51st ''Druk Desi'' |15= 15. Pema Choki }}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Notes== {{Reflist|group=fn}}

{{s-start}} {{s-hou|House of Wangchuck||1918||1991}} {{s-roy|bt}} {{S-bef|before=Phuntsho Choden}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen consort of Bhutan|years=1932–1952}} {{S-aft|after=Kesang Choden}} {{S-bef|before=–}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen Mother of Bhutan|years=1952–1972}} {{S-aft|after=Kesang Choden}} {{S-bef|before=–}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen Grandmother of Bhutan|years=1972–1991}} {{S-aft|after=Kesang Choden}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choden, Phuntsho}} Category:1918 births Category:1991 deaths Category:Bhutanese royal consorts Category:Wangchuck dynasty