Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, the 51-year-old son of former king Norodom Sihanouk, was formally sworn in as monarch Friday in an elaborate ceremony at the royal palace broadcast on national television.
"I swear to follow the constitution and all the laws of the kingdom of Cambodia and to carry out my duties for the prosperity of the nation and the people," he read from a scroll to hundreds of top government officials, religious leaders, monks, royalty and diplomats assembled for the solemn and protocol-laden occasion.
King Sihamoni, a former ballet dancer and cultural diplomat and the only surviving son of Sihanouk and the former queen Monineath, was then given possession of the royal regalia, symbolising his rule over Cambodia.
"I am very honoured to give the throne, nation, royal family, officials, soldiers, people, farmland, water, forests, jungles, mountains and all the provinces to Your Majesty the King from today on," royal palace minister Kong Som Ol told the shaven-headed king.
The king, who has worn a variety of traditional outfits during the ceremonies marking his coronation, was dressed in an Asian-style formal white jacket, red sash and deep blue sarong pants.
In a short speech afterwards Sihamoni said he would "devote my body and soul to the service of the people and the nation, pursuing the exceptional work accomplished by my august father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
"I shall endeavour to continue in the future the path they have tread for many years already of a glorious and ancient past," he pledged.
He then pressed his palms together across his chest in the sampeah, a traditional Khmer gesture of respect, before breaking into a wide smile as fireworks exploded outside the palace, which was ablaze with lights.
Monks in pagodas around the kingdom had also been asked to beat drums and gongs at the same time.
The coronation, a rich blend of Hindu and Buddhist rituals, began on Thursday and will conclude on Saturday morning.
Sihamoni was unanimously chosen by a throne council on October 14. The highly-revered Sihanouk, who turns 82 on Sunday, abdicated a week earlier.
The former monarch stepped down citing ill health and a wish to maintain stability in a country with a turbulent history, including the tragic Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s which left up to two million Cambodians dead.
King Sihamoni's half-brother Prince Norodom Ranariddh, another contender for the throne, told reporters earlier that the coronation was "one more thing which is our duty to do for the nation and political stability".
Friday's two-hour ceremony began with a colourful procession of hundreds of gold-jacketed, white-gloved officials, headed by the new king who was carried through the palace's manicured gardens into the Throne Hall on a golden chair.
Sihamoni, who bore himself with a dancer's grace, was then blessed by 52 chanting orange-robed monks - one for each year of his life, plus one.
As the sun set over the Tonle Sap river just outside, the formal part of the ceremony began, with the king taking his oath and receiving the regalia as priests blew conch shells.
According to tradition, Sihamoni's receipt of the royal regalia - which are replicas of originals that went missing decades ago - lends him semi-divine powers as a monarch whose origins stretch back to the ancient Angkor period.
Today the Cambodian king reigns and is highly-revered but does not rule. In an act demonstrating his powers and the compassion associated with the monarchy, Sihamoni signed off on a letter pardoning around 100 prisoners after the ceremony.
Despite spending most of his life outside Cambodia, the king's face has become a familiar sight, with the capital's streets adorned with scores of portraits for the festivities, along with thousands of Cambodian flags and the occasional portrait of Sihanouk.