The youngest current Queen consort is the Queen of Bhutan, born Jetsun Pema. She was born on 4 June 1990 as the daughter of Dhondup Gyaltshen and Sonam Choki at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu. She is their second eldest child of five and thus has four siblings: Thinley Norbu, Jigme Namgyal, Serchen Doma and Yeatso Lhamo.
Jetsun received her primary education at the Little Dragon Montessori School before completing her elementary education at the Sunshine School. She also attended the Lungtenzampa Higher Secondary School, the Changangkha Secondary School and St. Josephs Convent. She completed her high school years at Lawrence Schooll is Sanawar before going to the United Kingdom to attend Regent’s University London where she majored in International Relations with minors in Psychology and Art History. She captained the basketball team at Lungtenzampa and regularly visited art museums while living in London.1
It is unclear where she met her future husband, but they are distantly related. Their engagement was announced by her future husband, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth Dragon King of Bhutan, on 20 May 2011 during the opening of Parliament. He said, “As King, it is time for me to marry. After much thought, I have decided that the wedding shall be later this year. As my Queen, I have found such a person and her name is Jetsun Pema. While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart and character. These qualities, together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience, will make her a great servant to the nation.”2
They were married on 13 October 2011, and during the ceremony the King bestowed the Crown of the Druk Gyaltsuen on her, formally proclaiming her the Queen of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Although Bhutan allows for polygamy, her husband has said he would never marry another woman.
Since becoming Queen, Jetsun has joined her husband on several visits abroad and inside Bhutan. She also is active on social media. She is the Patron of the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, the Ability Bhutan Society, the Bhutan Kidney Association, the Bhutan Kidney Foundation as well as the UNEP Ozone Ambassador and President of the Bhutan Red Cross Society.
On 11 November 2015, it was announced that Jetsun was expecting their first child and a son was born to them on 5 February 2016. His name, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, was announced on 16 April 2016. On 17 December 2019, it was announced that she was expecting their second child. A second son named Jigme Ugyen Wangchuck was born on 19 March 2020.
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