King Maha Vajira
‘Extremely evil misconduct’: Thailand’s palace intrigue spills into view
Purges in King Vajiralongkorn’s court have electrified the normally anodyne royal gazette.
The denunciations have swirled through Thailand’s gilded palaces with the rhetorical extravagance of a Shakespearean history. The official consort to the king was accused of trying to upstage the queen and “undermining the nation”, leading to the stripping of her royal titles after less than three months on the job.
A grand chamberlain was removed for “severely immoral acts” that allegedly included forcing a paramour to undergo an abortion. And last week, four more courtiers, two of whom were described as bedchamber pages, were removed for “extremely evil misconduct”
Nearly half a year ago, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned in a lavish spectacle culminating in the placement of a 7kg crown on his head. Since then the 67-year-old king has assembled a court whose intrigue frequently spills onto the pages of the Royal Thai Government Gazette, which normally records more anodyne matters.
The explosive details of the palace purges stand in contrast to the reserved tenor of the seven-decade reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, his father. At the time of his death in 2016, Bhumibol was the world’s longest-serving royal. He did not leave Thailand for decades, and he was often pictured in rice paddies or factories with his subjects.
Vajiralongkorn spends much of his time in Germany and has not continued the tradition of communing with ordinary Thais, at least in photos that have been made public. The king has taken high-profile steps that appear to have bolstered his authority.
Last year, he assumed oversight over the Crown Property Bureau, whose fortune, believed to be upward of €30 billion, helps make him one of the world’s wealthiest royals. In February, he quashed the political candidacy of his elder sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, calling her attempt to run for prime minister “highly inappropriate”.
Last month, he ordered two infantry units in Bangkok, the capital, moved from normal military command to that of his royal corps.
TANIKO Madagascar 