Bhutan's founder died in 1651, and his officials kept the death secret for 54 years while issuing orders in his name

Ngawang Namgyal was enthroned at Ralung in Tibet as the reincarnation of the Drukpa master Pema Karpo. A rival faction backed another boy, Paksam Wangpo. With the support of the ruler of Tsang, the rival took the Ralung throne. Ngawang Namgyal left Tibet in 1616 and built a state in Bhutan. Foreigners called him "Dharmaraja." He died in 1651. His officials kept the death secret for 54 years to stop the country breaking apart, according to the Library of Congress country study. They said he had entered a religious retreat. Appointments were issued in his name, and food was left outside his locked door. His son, and later his stepbrother, were installed as minors under regents and held little real power. Chroniclers called the stand-ins "substitutes." From 1698 to 1705 his granddaughter performed the substitute's duties without the title. The death was formally acknowledged in 1705. A Bhutan Studies monograph dates the reveal to 1704^†. Afterwards the regents recognised separate reincarnations of his body, speech and mind. The last bodily reincarnation died in the mid-18th century; speech and mind reincarnations were recognised into the early 20th century.