Rahul, Sonia to join Bhutan royal wedding gala

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, a close friend of Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will attend the National Celebrations to mark the Royal Wedding on Saturday as a "personal guest" of the monarch.

The 41-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family arrived in capital Thimphu on Friday afternoon to attend the day-long celebrations that will take place at the Tashichhoedzong, a monastic fortress on northern edge of the city, the seat of the Bhutan's government and Changlingmithang Grounds.

"He is already in the capital. He will be attending the celebrations tomorrow. He is a personal guest of our King," Dasho Kinley Dorji, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication, told PTI.

Sources in the Indian Embassy in Thimphu too confirmed his arrival and participation in the celebrations.

Rahul had attended the coronation of Wangchuck in November, 2008 along with his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka.

Sources said Rahul and the King share a "special relationship" and had promised to attend his wedding celebrations.

"The Gandhi family has had a special kinship with the royal family ever since the time of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and it continues even now. The entire Gandhi family had attended the coronation," the sources said.