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BANGKOK, June 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, is expected to leave hospital on Saturday after a hernia operation, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said.

The King, 74, underwent a one-and-a-half hour operation late on Tuesday and has remained under observation since then.

"It is likely the King will leave hospital for his (Bangkok) Chitrlada Palace today," Thaksin said in a weekly radio speech.

King Bhumibol has been treated for a range of ailments in recent years but is said to be in good health.

Surgeons removed a growth from the king's prostate gland in February. Doctors discovered the hernia during a check-up following that operation.

The quiet-spoken, bespectacled king, who has reigned since 1946, is widely revered by the Thai people, many of whom worship the royal family as semi-divine.

He has been a powerful force for national unity during a long series of military coups and constitutional experiments. All factions have always claimed loyalty to him.

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