# Pema Dechen

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{{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](/source/Queen_consort_of_Bhutan)
|regent      = [Phuntsho Choden](/source/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](/source/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](/source/House_of_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](/source/Bumthang_District)
|death_date  = 1991 (aged 72–73)
|death_place = Samchoeling Palace, [Trongsa](/source/Trongsa_District)
|place of burial =
|religion    = [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism)
}}

[Ashi](/source/Ashi_(title)) '''Pema Dechen''' (1918–1991) was the [queen consort of Bhutan](/source/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](/source/Druk_Gyalpo) ''Gongsar'' [Ugyen Wangchuck](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Jetsun_Pema), and she was the great grandmother of the Fifth Druk Gyalpo, [Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck](/source/Jigme_Khesar_Namgyel_Wangchuck). 

Her elder sister, ''Ashi'' [Phuntsho Choden](/source/Phuntsho_Choden) (1911–2003), was the first wife of her husband since 1923 when she was 12 years old, at Thinley Rabten Palace, [Phodrang](/source/Wangdue_Phodrang_District).<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](/source/Druk_Gyalpo) were:

* Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Choki Wangmo Wangchuck (born 1937).
* Prince (Druk Gyalsey) Namgyel Wangchuck, 26th ''[Penlop](/source/Penlop)'' of [Paro](/source/Paro_District) (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](/source/Dzongpen)'' of [Thimphu](/source/Thimphu_District)
|7= 7. Yeshay Choden
|8= 
|9=
|10= 
|11= 
|12= 12. Pema Tenzin, ''[Penlop](/source/Penlop)'' of [Jakar](/source/Jakar_Dzong)
|13= 13. Lhamo
|14= 14. [Jigme Namgyal, 10th ''Trongsa Penlop'' and 51st ''Druk Desi''](/source/Jigme_Namgyal_(Bhutan)) 
|15= 15. Pema Choki 
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[House of Wangchuck](/source/House_of_Wangchuck)||1918||1991}}
{{s-roy|bt}}
{{S-bef|before=[Phuntsho Choden](/source/Phuntsho_Choden)}}
{{S-ttl|title=[Queen consort of Bhutan](/source/Druk_Gyaltsuen)|years=1932–1952}}
{{S-aft|after=[Kesang Choden](/source/Kesang_Choden_(born_1930))}}
{{S-bef|before=–}}
{{S-ttl|title=Queen Mother of Bhutan|years=1952–1972}}
{{S-aft|after=[Kesang Choden](/source/Kesang_Choden_(born_1930))}}
{{S-bef|before=–}}
{{S-ttl|title=Queen Grandmother of Bhutan|years=1972–1991}}
{{S-aft|after=[Kesang Choden](/source/Kesang_Choden_(born_1930))}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

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

{{Bhutan-bio-stub}}
{{Asia-royal-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pema Dechen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pema_Dechen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pema_Dechen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.