{{Short description|Widow of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck of Bhutan}} {{Distinguish|Kesang Choden Wangchuck}} {{Bhutanese Name}} {{Infobox royalty | consort = yes | name = Kesang Choden | image = Kesang Choden.jpg | caption = Kesang Choden in 1950 | reign = 30 March 1952 – 21 July 1972 | coronation = 27 October 1952 | predecessor = | successor = | succession = Queen consort of Bhutan | title = The Royal Grandmother | full name = Kesang Choden Wangchuck<ref group=fn>Women in Bhutan retain their names upon marriage.</ref><!--Although she may be referred to by the surname Wangchuck, there is no official confirmation as to whether she changed her name. The case is similar for royal consorts who are known by their premarital names due to the customs of their country.--> | spouse = {{marriage|Jigme Dorji Wangchuck <br>|1951|1972|end=died}} | issue = Sonam Choden Wangchuck <br> Dechen Wangmo Wangchuck <br>Jigme Singye Wangchuck<br> Pema Lhaden Wangchuck <br> Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck | father = ''Gongzim'' Sonam Tobgye Dorji | mother = Mayeum Choying Wangmo Dorji | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1930|5|21}} | birth_place = Bhutan House, Kalimpong, India | religion = Buddhism | house = Dorji (by birth)<br>Wangchuck (by marriage)<!--As women in Bhutan keep their names upon marriage and because there is no official source such as from an official royal website, it is best not to mention a royal house.--> }} {{Royal Family of Bhutan}}
[[File:Maharaja of Bhutan at the International Lowcost Housing Exhibition.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Kesang Choden behind her husband, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, on 30 January 1954.]]
Ashi '''Kesang Choden''' ({{langx|dz|སྐལ་བཟང་ཆོས་ལྡན}}, {{bo|w=skal bzang chos ldan}}, born 21 May 1930) is the widow of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.<ref name="telegraphindia.com">{{cite web|title=Octogenarian grandmother of king to visit different holy places in state|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131210/jsp/bihar/story_17661980.jsp#.VBUF8qN0Ykk|access-date=14 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112025004/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1131210/jsp/bihar/story_17661980.jsp|archive-date=2017-11-12}}</ref> She participates in royal duties of her own accord. She is the only living Queen Grandmother in the World. In Bhutan she is called ''The Royal Grandmother''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://yeewongmagazine.com/the-classic-buddhist-queen/ |title=Yeewongmagazine |access-date=2016-09-09 |archive-date=2021-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226091509/http://yeewongmagazine.com/the-classic-buddhist-queen/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Education== She was educated at the St Joseph's Convent, Kalimpong, India, as well as the House of Citizenship, London.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
In her reminiscence, the Queen notes:
{{blockquote|The Irish nuns of St. Joseph’s Convent were very well educated and taught us well. The nuns were most kind and loving to me and I in turn loved and respected them greatly.}}
==Marriage and family== She married Crown Prince of Bhutan (''Druk Gyalsey''), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, at the Ugyen Pelri Thang Palace, Paro, on 5 October 1951.
She became Queen consort of Bhutan in 1952 when her husband, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, ascended to the throne upon the death of his father. In 1953 she was expecting her first child, a daughter. Her first daughter arrived earlier than she expected as she was waiting for a Western doctor and her mother to travel to Thimphu to help with the delivery. The previous Queen, ''Ashi'' Phuntsho Choden, her maid, and the Bhutanese doctor Phenchun helped to deliver her daughter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Her Majesty Ashi Phuntsho Choden Wangchuck: Patron Queen of Bhutan: A Legacy of Devotion and Leadership |url=http://khyentsefoundation.org/2012/02/great-patrons-series-her-majesty-ashi-phuntsho-choden-wangchuck-patron-queen-of-bhutan/ |access-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915003854/http://khyentsefoundation.org/2012/02/great-patrons-series-her-majesty-ashi-phuntsho-choden-wangchuck-patron-queen-of-bhutan/ |archive-date=15 September 2014 }}</ref>
Her children with the Third Druk Gyalpo were:
* Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Sonam Choden Wangchuck (born 1953) * Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Dechen Wangmo Wangchuck (born 1954) * King (Druk Gyalpo) Jigme Singye Wangchuck (born 1955) * Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Pema Lhaden Wangchuck (born 1959) * Princess (Druk Gyalsem) Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck (born 1961)
==Royal duties== On 22 April 1972, she was appointed regent when her husband was ill. She has also been a patron of annual prayers conducted for the well-being and security of the King, country, and the people. She provides subsistence allowance to about 500 monks and tshampas (lay monks) in various monasteries in Bumthang, Dokar Phurdrub Gompa and Euto Gompa in Paro, Nyala Gompa in Trongsa and Jangsa Gompa in Kalimpong, India. She also has a keen interest in preserving the unique art, architecture and cultural heritage of Bhutan and in promoting research and scholarship on the kingdom. She often visits religious places in Bhutan and India.<ref name="telegraphindia.com"/>
In commemoration of the Royal Grandmother's 87th birth anniversary, a book titled "The Heart of a Sacred Kingdom, Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck: A Lifetime of Service to the People and Kingdom of Bhutan" was published on Sunday 21 May 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/05/23/book-commemorate-majesty-royal-grandmothers-birth-anniversary/ |title=South Asian Monitor |access-date=2017-05-31 |archive-date=2017-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629204723/http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/05/23/book-commemorate-majesty-royal-grandmothers-birth-anniversary/ |url-status=dead }}</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; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. '''Kesang Choden''' |2= 2. Raja Sonam Tobgye Dorji |3= 3. Rani Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji |4= 4. Raja Ugyen Dorji |5= |6= 6. Sir Thutob Namgyal, 9th Maharaja of Sikkim |7= 7. Yeshay Dolma |8= 8. Sherpa Puchung, ''Dzongpon'' |9= 9. Tsherim, a Lady from Tsento, Paro |10= |11= |12= 12. Tsugphud Namgyal, 7th Maharaja of Sikkim |13= 13. Maharani Menchi |14= 14. Shiafe Uthok, of the Lhading House of Lhasa |15= |16= 16. Pala Gyeltshen |17= 17. a Lady from Tsento, Paro |18= |19= |20= |21= |22= |23= |24= 24. Tenzing Namgyal, 6th Maharaja of Sikkim |25= 25. Anyo Karwang |26= |27= |28= |29= |30= |31= }}
==References== {{reflist}}
== Notes == {{reflist|group=fn}}
{{s-start}} {{s-hou|House of Wangchuck||21 May 1930||}} {{s-roy|bt}} {{S-bef|before=Phuntsho Choden<br>Pema Dechen}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen consort of Bhutan|years=1952–1972}} {{s-aft|after=Dorji Wangmo<br>Tshering Pem<br>Tshering Yangdon<br>Sangay Choden}} {{S-bef|before=Phuntsho Choden<br>Pema Dechen}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen Mother of Bhutan|years=1972–2006}} {{s-aft|after=Dorji Wangmo<br>Tshering Pem<br>Tshering Yangdon<br>Sangay Choden}} {{S-bef|before=Phuntsho Choden<br>Pema Dechen}} {{S-ttl|title=Queen Grandmother of Bhutan|years=2006–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesang Choden}} Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:Dorji family Category:Wangchuck dynasty Category:Bhutanese queen mothers Category:Bhutanese royal consorts