A coffin carrying the embalmed⁴（铭记于心，不朽） body of the late monarch⁵ was paraded through the streets of the capital. 

 

It was taken to a crematorium（火葬场）, where his funeral pyre（火葬用的柴堆） will be lit by his wife and son, King Norodom Sihamoni, on Monday. 

 

King Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing at the age of 89. 

 

His embalmed body has been lying in state at the royal palace for the last three months to allow people to pay their respects.

 

Crowds began lining⁶ the streets of Phnom Penh at dawn ahead of the parade. 

 

King Sihanouk's gold casket was carried on a golden float, surrounded by officials wearing white, the colour of mourning. 

 

After cremation⁷, his ashes will be placed in an urn¹（嗡，缸） at the royal palace.

 

King Sihanouk remained an influential⁸ figure until death, despite abdicating⁹ in favour of his son in 2004. 

 

He became king in 1941 while still a teenager, and led Cambodia to independence from France in 1953.

 

He was a presence through decades of political and social turmoil¹⁰ in Cambodia, despite long periods of exile overseas. 

 

In later life he emerged as a peacemaker who helped bring stability back to his country, after an ill-fated choice to back the Khmer Rouge¹¹ in its early years.

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