The king and I

It is not every day you get to meet a king.

But that is exactly what happened to Freda Ferne on a recent trip to Bhutan.

The 61-year-old author and publisher was in the Asian country for the recent coronation of the new King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and had the opportunity to speak to him.

Miss Ferne, who lives at Avoncliff, said: "He spent a lot of time moving through the crowd, meeting people and speaking to people and he came quite close to where our group was.

"I offered him my congratulations and I asked if I would be able to join his dignitaries for the farewell dance and he said of course I must."

Later in the day she was summoned by royal command to attend the farewell celebrations.

Although her moment with the king was not photographed, it was being filmed and has been posted on video sharing website YouTube.

It was the third time Miss Ferne had been to the Himalayan country and this time she went specifically for the two-day coronation celebrations.

She said: "I am a member of the Bhutan Society of the United Kingdom and it was through the society that five of us got the opportunity to go out there for the coronation.

"It was fabulous. It exceeded all my expectations and you don't often say that about somewhere you visit."

Miss Ferne has been interested in Bhutan since reading articles about it the National Geographic.

When she inherited some money in 1994 she decided to visit the country she had only seen pictures of.

Miss Ferne said: "It felt like I had arrived home, it felt totally right. It was wonderful."

She has now also written a children's book about the country called Bhutan: Land Of The Thunder Dragon, after a project with Christ Church Primary School in Bradford on Avon made her realise there were no similar books.

After putting together her own photographs and notes from her trips she decided to turn it into a book and have it published.

In a strange coincidence her neighbour Dr Trevor Turpin has also had a book published in the same week.

His latest work, entitled Dam, is a study of the development of dams from the industrial revolution to the present day.

For more information about Miss Ferne's book go to www.bhutan-an- introduction.co.uk and for more information about Dr Turpin's book go to www.reaktionbooks.co.uk.