All four countries have another thing in common, namely close and cordial relations with nearby authoritarian China, which has used its power and wealth to promote authoritarianism throughout its region. A furious opposition emerged, known as the Yellow Shirts — yellow being the color of the monarchy — whose claim to legitimacy was that they, with support from the military, were the defenders of the monarchy. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. The Crown Prince is known to be friends with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the businessman and former owner of Manchester City, who was ousted as the Thai premier in 2006. The world knows Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a playboy who has churned through four wives, lives among lots of women in a German hotel and relishes skimpy crop tops … With the Southeast Asian … In Thailand King Vajiralongkorn is most often seen parading in his royal regalia, complete with a colourful array of medals. The crop top was worn with reference to King Maha Vajiralongkorn wearing the same in European tabloids a few years ago. Vajiralongkorn’s assertion of his power comes at a time when Thailand has been moving in an authoritarian direction, the government largely controlled by the military, which, after years of sometimes violent political turmoil, took power in a coup in 2014. But I was wrong,” Chachavalpongpun continued. Construction cranes loom over the ramparts. In what seemed to be a concession to modern sensibilities, Vajiralongkorn, according to newspaper reports, has ordered an end to prosecutions under the lèse-majesté laws. But there seems to be very little of that in Thailand these days. King Maha was spotted with Tidjai, while wearing a white crop top, covered in what appeared to be fake tattoos, and holding a small white dog as he boarded a plane in Germany last year. “Actually, the 2014 coup was a way for the military to assure Vajiralongkorn’s succession at a time when his father was sick and Thaksin was becoming more popular than the king,” Pavin said. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? In 2011 four of the children she had with the Crown Prince published a letter claiming they had been abandoned by their father and banned from returning to Thailand. Some would prefer the Crown Prince’s younger sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, to take the throne but Thai law forbids a female monarch. He has clearly taken charge, doing so in a way that implicitly affirms both obedience to authority and a kind of above-the-law monarchical privilege. Thailand's royal family, compared to the constantly spotlighted British monarchy, is extremely secretive. On 16 May 2017, Thai officials warned Facebook after an online video was posted of the king wearing a crop top and with full view of his half sleeve tattoo. That’s the way they make people give up.”. Thailand is a country where there can be lively conversations about all sorts of topics, where some new political parties have formed to vigorously contest the national elections held in March last year. “He is basically running the country now, though he’s not doing that like his father did through moral authority. The unpredictable King of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is suffering mass protests in Bankok, has now been accused of breaking his sister’s ankles. A portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej seen at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre in Bangkok on October 15, 2016. After the death of his father King Bhumibol in October 2016, Maha Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne as His Majesty King Rama X. Vox’s work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources. In Thailand King Vajiralongkorn is most often seen parading in his royal regalia, complete with a colourful array of medals. “The Air Chief Marshal’s antics drew the full attention of the 600-plus audience members, and remains the talk of the town to this day.”. It’s an immense rectangle, surrounded by newly renovated walls surmounted by the yellow flag of the monarchy. His body was even adorned in FAKE tattoos. He’s using fear to solidify his position and to take command.”. Some of Thailand’s highest-profile protest leaders dressed in crop tops and paraded at a Bangkok shopping mall yesterday in a jibe against King Maha … This has included closing areas that were once open to the public, including the Bangkok Zoo and one of Bangkok’s two horse-racing tracks. One of the leaders of the protests, a local fish farmer named Sarayoot Souraksa, described in succinct terms how people in the region of 4 million people felt about the country’s past turmoil and the coup that put an end to it. The Crown Prince has not inherited his father’s popularity among people in Thailand, Woman forced to kneel before portrait of Thai king after 'posting disrespectful comments online', Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn (left) photographed at Munich airport in July 2016, Royal guards shade Queen Elizabeth II and Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej from the sun with traditional Thai parasols during the welcoming ceremony at Bangkok military airport, The Thai royal family, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn & Queen Sirikit, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej reviews royal guards at a ceremony marking his 69th birthday, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej takes pictures during the royal ploughing ceremony in Bangkok, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest serving monarch, and Queen Sirikit preside over a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the king's accession to the throne, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand rides with French President de Gaulle in French official Citroen convertible upon his arrival at Orly airport, south of Paris, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand rides down the Champs-Elysees with French President de Gaulle, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit stand near Belgian King Baudouin I, during their official visit to Belgium, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on a stopover at the Touquet airport on August 1948 during his journey to Great Britain, French President de Gaulle and his wife alongside King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and his wife attend a show at the Opera de Paris, Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was outed in a 2006 coup after public protests, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}. STROLLING in a German shopping centre, covered in tattoos and wearing a preposterous yellow crop top, the scruffy guy looked about as far from … The universally held belief in Bangkok is that she was thrown into the Bangkok women’s prison; on exactly what legal authority other than the king’s demand, nobody is saying. Thailand’s playboy king isn’t playing around. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts to all who need them. They wrote: “We were ordered by our father not to return home to Thailand ... We were afraid to risk even demonstrating the slightest inference of disrespect toward the Royal Family.”. Here’s a regal dilemma to consider: Is it right for a king with 70 million subjects and wealth in excess of 70 billion dollars to be seen frolicking around in a crop top rather than a crown? Indeed, it’s difficult these days to think of a single country in Southeast Asia, with its 620 million people, that is becoming more democratic rather than more authoritarian. Vajiralongkorn, in this sense, arrives at a time of disillusionment with the old politics. It's here that the King lives a life of luxury and quirkiness: walking through German shopping malls wearing crop tops and fake tattoos and hiring out an entire hotel to live in with his harem of lovers. … “Any other reasons they support the government?” I asked. Russian President Vladimir Putin appreciates spy agency after US hack controversy All of these countries have retained what a Filipino journalist, Marites Vitug, called “the trappings of power” in a conversation I had with her in Manila. He’s also disturbingly authoritarian. Unusually for a Thai king, however, Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time in Bavaria, where he has been snapped wearing skimpy crop tops, sometimes with elaborate temporary tattoos splayed across his back and arms. | Photo Credit: Reuters . Mr Boyce allegedly recounted the event in a leaked cable, writing: “Foo Foo was present at the event, dressed in formal evening attire complete with paw mitts, and at one point during the band’s second number, he jumped up on to the head table and began lapping from the guests’ water glasses, including my own. Thailand threatens to sue Facebook after videos emerge of king in crop top wandering in German shopping centre And whether he really did that or not, he cultivated an image of Buddhist kindness and compassion, sponsoring programs in the countryside, going to villages and meeting with ordinary people. Vajiralongkorn is still a bit of an absentee monarch, living mostly in Europe. A military coup, the first of two in eight years, removed Thaksin from power in 2006, and shortly after that, facing trial on charges of corruption, he fled the country and has not been back since. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Thais who know about such things say his army is equipped with armored personnel carriers, anti-riot gear, and helicopters. In a picturesque town in the German Alps lives the most unlikely of royalty. Around the same time, several palace aides were dismissed — two of them, identified as bedroom guards, for “inappropriate acts and adultery,” according to the official Palace Gazette. King Maha was spotted with … To get a sense of that, I spent a day in November in an area of fish farms and rice paddies in Chachoengsao province southwest of Bangkok to talk to members of an environmental group opposed to a planned industrial zone called the Eastern Economic Corridor. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Bangkok: Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, who is set to be crowned King of Thailand after his father King Bhumibhol died on Thursday, is a womaniser, wears crop tops … They have elections, some independent newspapers that even do good critical reporting, and while they do not hesitate to get rid of opponents, they also keep disappearances at low levels so as not to arouse public animosity or international sanction. Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Shows Off His Sick Ink | Tattoodo Cookies This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. The bizarre clip of King Maha Vajiralongkorn waltzing around a shopping centre alongside a woman has gone viral, The Sun reports. Among at least 35 activists currently facing charges under the lese majeste law is 16-year-old Napasin Trirayapiwat, who wore a crop top and had anti-monarchy slogans written on his midriff at a protest. Thailand is set to crown a new monarch this month after King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death ended his 70-year reign – but the former ruler’s only son and heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, is not popular with everyone. It would be hard to overstate the extent of what seems to be an almost medieval reverence for the king in Thailand. The theater closed to mourn the king. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today, from as little as $3. He’s gotten changes in the constitution giving him emergency powers and allowing him to exercise his authority even when he is out of the country — which is most of the time. Prince Maha has been married three times. In Thailand King Vajiralongkorn is most often seen parading in his royal regalia, complete with a colourful array of medals. And given its importance as a pillar of Thai nationhood and identity, that could be disastrous in a country already prone to deep divisions and political turmoil. Video of the king was reportedly shot at a mall in Munich last year in July, and has been widely shared on the social … BANGKOK — The new king of Thailand is into his fashion, but unfortunately the Thai government doesn’t want its citizens to know that. Amid the turmoil, prominent members of Thailand’s ruling class have reportedly been killed in a sign of what could become a more widespread conflict. The crop top is a reference to pictures showing the king dressed in one which have appeared in European tabloids in recent years. But he also gave rise to a kind of middle- and upper-class terror that he was dictatorial and corrupt, and that his populist appeal challenged the sustained privilege of wealthy Bangkok elites. Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that empowers you through understanding. Here's the footage of … Is Thailand threatening to sue Facebook? The fears about his ascension to power go deeper than concerns about his romantic life and canine commitment. Sineenat was accused of ingratitude and misbehavior, the disappearances and apparent killings of at least eight leading opposition figures, China 1945: Mao’s Revolution and America’s Fateful Choice. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. In fact he is known more for his eclectic dress sense, scandal-plagued past and failed marriages than any regal qualities. “I thought that Thailand would end up having a weak king,” Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a scholar of Thai politics and a dissident exiled from the country when Vajiralongkorn’s father was still king, told me in a Skype interview from Japan, where he lives. When the dog died last year, it was given a four-day funeral complete with Buddhist rites before being cremated in an extravagant ceremony. The King of Thailand, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has called Bavaria his part-time home for a number of years. She was also pictured in the cockpit of a fighter jet and wearing a gray camouflage pattern crop-top at the controls of a light aircraft. He's fond of the crop top. When Sineenat was installed for her brief reign as noble royal consort, official photographs of the ceremony showed her lying on the floor, making hand gestures of fealty, while Vajiralongkorn sat imperiously on a gilded throne above her. And so, following the election, the former army chief who led the 2014 coup, Prayuth Chan-ocha, became the country’s prime minister. In the largest of them, in 2010, the Red Shirts occupied the commercial center of Bangkok for nearly three months before they were crushed by the army, with some 80 Red Shirts killed and more than 2,000 injured. It wasn’t lost on many Thais that the king himself had five children with a now-dismissed mistress while he was still married to his second wife (that mistress and four of the five children have since been disowned and are now living in the United States; the youngest child and only daughter lives in Thailand as a royal). The Thai royal family has some pretty draconian laws when it comes to … Vajiralongkorn is clearly a product of Thai culture, but his evident authoritarianism also seems to fit a larger regional and even global pattern, the disillusionment with traditional liberal elites and the turn to strongman rule. Among at least 35 … Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej - Life in Pictures, Crop tops, mistresses and flying poodles: meet Thailand's next king, Read more King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand dies aged 88, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Some of Thailand’s highest profile protest leaders dressed in crop tops and paraded at a central Bangkok shopping centre on Sunday in a jibe against King Maha Vajiralongkorn to … “They supported the Yellow Shirts,” he said, “because they were afraid of Thaksin coming back.” We were sitting in a covered yard alongside one of his ponds, where he grows plankton for sale to nearby fish and shrimp farmers. Experts believe this could deepen a period of instability in Thailand that has included two coups, anti-government protests and a bloody fight for secession by Muslim separatists in the country’s southern provinces. Two died while in custody while another reportedly fled to Myanmar. Meet Thailand’s poodle-obsessed, crop-top wearing ‘playboy prince’ who will now lead the country following his revered dad’s death The threat of the US withdrawing its support is less serious.”, “China is not democratic,” he continued, “but it’s able to deliver fast economic growth, and people feel that if this can happen, what’s the need for democracy?”. BANGKOK — A few years ago, a Facebook video went viral and revealed to the world why many people in Thailand were anxious over the prospect of Maha Vajiralongkorn, then the country’s crown prince, becoming king. “It can only be successful if there are no popular protests against it, and the easiest way to achieve this is to deal with strongmen in each country.”, Another Thai, a young political activist in the country’s Democratic Party who ran unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament in the elections last March, told me, “The fact that there’s a new superpower that’s less keen on human rights in other countries reduces the American influence. The reverence for the king has long been enforced by the country’s lèse-majesté laws, which outlaw “defaming, insulting, or threatening” of a member of the royal family — including, for example, “Liking” that mall video on Facebook. Thaksin put into place several programs, like low-cost universal health care, aimed at alleviating rural poverty and appealing to his base. King of Thailand Wears Crop Top, Internet and Government Freak Out. A new constitution written by the coup leaders allowed an election to take place in March 2019, but the new law gives the military so many automatic seats in parliament that it would be almost impossible for an opposition party to take control. Yet none of them are functioning as democracies. Naked pictures emerge of Thai king who was filmed in tiny yellow crop top. In one of them, for example, he eliminated a requirement that when the king is out of the country, which Vajiralongkorn is most of the time, his authority would revert to a regent. Richard Hartley-Parkinson Tuesday 16 May 2017 6:12 am. “They are royalists.”. Many people in Thailand are outraged by the skimpy outfits their monarch, King Vajiralongkorn, loves to wear. The king’s crop tops. A private army would be very useful if there were ever a coup attempt, including a move against him from some dissenting faction in the army. In a country where polygamy has been banned for 100 years, the king seemed to be saying that a kind of polygamy would be a prerogative of the monarch (and nobody else). THAILAND could lose all access to Facebook today after footage of its heavily-tattooed king strolling around in a crop top went viral. He was eating ice cream while wearing very un-monarchical jeans and a crop top, his bare midriff displaying what seemed to be elaborate temporary tattoos. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. “Some people have gone to jail,” Sirapop Kornaroot, known as Rungsila, a dissident poet recently released after five years of detention, told me. Plaques that once memorialized the 1932 coup that abolished the absolute monarchy have, according to some Bangkok residents, simply disappeared. In effect, it gives him control of a personal private army. He’s taken control of an estimated $43 billion in royal assets that have for decades been entrusted to a Crown Property Bureau that, at least theoretically, managed the money for the benefit of the Thai people. Born in 1952 in Bangkok’s Royal Palace, Prince Maha was educated in the UK at King’s Mead School and Millfield School before attending Australia’s Royal Military College. But in a way, that was the point: Like President Trump, Vajiralongkorn gets away with things that would have ruined his predecessors, though in Vajiralongkorn’s case, this involves an intentional display of royal power, a signal that the rules that apply to everybody else don’t apply to him. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. An image taken from a video widely shared on Facebook in recent weeks appears to show King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand walking through a shopping mall in a yellow crop top. Installing his mistress as a royal consort was certainly scandalous, but some of the measures Vajiralongkorn has taken to assert his power go well beyond nasty palace intrigue and into unprecedented territory for Thailand. Crop-tops, mistresses and flying poodles: Meet the next King of Thailand Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkor will take the throne following the death … Crop tops, tattoos and marrying his bodyguard - new Thai king's coronation sets the seal on years of eccentricity For more on him, see richardbernstein.net. In Thailand King Vajiralongkorn is most often seen parading in his royal regalia, complete with a colourful array of medals. The man once infamous for his mistresses, crop tops, and presumably fake tattoos now looks out sternly from portraits placed all over Thailand, dressed in kingly gold-brocaded robes or a … Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Among the photos of Major-General Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, the Thai King’s consort, are images of her wearing a camouflage-printed sports bra. Thailand’s new king is a kooky crop top-wearing playboy By David K. Li. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. But, as Rungsila and people like him acknowledge, Thailand’s turn to authoritarianism has also been welcomed and supported by many people who experienced the intermittent turbulence and violence of the years before the 2014 coup, and who give credit to the military and the monarchy for the return of domestic “peace and order,” as the propaganda put it at the time. “We’re not supposed to talk about the king,” one person whispered to me in Bangkok during a visit there in November, “but the king is what everybody talks about.”. LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE KING! “There’s a mutual interdependence between the military and the monarchy. “I thought that Vajiralongkorn would be so lacking in moral authority that he wouldn’t get the support of the various sectors of society that he needs. Vajiralongkorn does none of that, cultivating instead an image of sternness, command, and Olympian distance from ordinary people. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? “Take the Belt and Road project,” he said, referring to Beijing’s plan for a network of ports, railroads, energy corridors, and shipping lanes aimed at making China the center of a vast Eurasian economic network. With King Bhumibol Adulyadej old and ailing, many worried the Thai monarchy would atrophy into irrelevance once his playboy son ascended to the throne. But human rights groups say that, instead, similar prosecutions are taking place under the country’s computer crime laws. Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Reddit 0. Unusually for a Thai king, however, Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time in Bavaria, where he has been snapped wearing skimpy crop tops, sometimes with elaborate temporary tattoos splayed across his back and arms. Bild. Even the most senior officials in the government and the military literally drop to their knees when in his presence. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. In perhaps his most remarkable display of unrestricted power, after a new constitution was adopted in a referendum, Vajiralongkorn simply rewrote the clauses having to do with the power of the king. Bangkok: Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, who is set to be crowned King of Thailand after his father King Bhumibhol died on Thursday, is a womaniser, wears crop tops … Since taking the throne in late 2016, Vajiralongkorn has rapidly amassed power. In Thailand’s neighbor, Myanmar, the military has allowed elections but retains its hold on power, and even the country’s ostensible democratic champion, Aung San Suu Kyi, has supported her government’s genocidal attacks on its Rohingya minority. THAILAND could lose all access to Facebook today after footage of its heavily-tattooed king strolling around in a crop top went viral. Meanwhile, in Cambodia, the long-serving prime minister, Hun Sen, has jailed his main political opponents and banned the only political party that had a chance to defeat him in elections two years ago. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. In the Philippines, for example, President Rodrigo Duterte has emerged as a sort of elected strongman, carrying out a supposed war on drugs that has resulted, according to human rights groups, in more than 20,000 extrajudicial killings. The 64-year-old Crown Prince was pictured at Munich airport earlier this year wearing a small white crop-top, faded slim-fit jeans and a fake tattoo sleeve. “He wants everybody to see, whether it’s taking back the land that the zoo is on or assuming direct control of military regiments. X × Social media is one of the most important, strangest, and most unpredictable inventions of the 21st Century all at the same time. Yingluck was accused of corruption and removed from office in 2014, and with new Red Shirt protests looming and the old, much-loved king, Bhumibol, on his deathbed, the military stepped in, seizing power in a coup and then assuring the royal succession when Bhumibol died two years later. The leaking of the tape marked the eruption of below-the-surface tensions among the country’s elite as to who should succeed King Bhumibol. Marriages and issue The Thai king, the crop top, and a poodle. Indeed, the old politics was breeding such extreme conflict that Thailand was in danger of civil war. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. “For the Chinese, it’s easier to deal with strongmen than with democratic governments,” one Thai businessman told me in Bangkok. “It’s all a way of making his power formal, visible,” one person whispered to me. A glimpse into the old race track revealed a bunch of construction sheds. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Thailand is putting the squeeze on Facebook to remove dozens of pages that have video of King Maha Vajiralongkorn wearing a crop top. There is no such regent anymore in Thailand. In return, they have faced police water cannons and tear gas, angry royalist mobs and an … Dozens Face Criminal Complaints in Thailand, Accused of Insulting the King Most are protesters who have changed the country’s political landscape in recent months . Fears of a potentially powerful partnership between Mr Shinawatra and the future king were reported to have been the motivation in part for military coups in 2006 and 2014. It does this by refusing to criticize these countries for human rights violations, by offering aid and military support when such support is withheld by the US and Europe, and, not least, by presenting a model that seems to be successful and that China itself proclaims as an alternative to Western ways of doing things. Naked pictures emerge of Thai king who was filmed in tiny yellow crop top. Prince Maha ended his relationship with his third wife, Princess Srirasm, in December. His removal of two crack army regiments in the Bangkok area from the usual chain of command and putting them under his own authority is among them. “Regarding Thaksin, it had to be either a coup or an assassination,” a former moderate Thai member of parliament told me in 2014, expressing the commonly held middle- and upper-class fear that even though Thaksin had been legally elected, he would turn out to be a dictator impossible to remove. Thailand activists stage crop-top protest against lèse-majesté law. Jorge Silva/Reuters. All of this would be far more difficult, maybe even impossible, if there were widespread public opposition. Thailand activists stage crop-top protest against lèse-majesté law. The Thai military government has always used a mandatory reverence for the monarchy as a tool of political control, and has carefully cultivated a very monarchical image for the new king. The second wife left the country when the relationship ended. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. This is partly because of skillfully applied measures of repression by the military-led government, including the disappearances and apparent killings of at least eight leading opposition figures, and surveillance of others the police feel might cause trouble. But that doesn’t mean he’s detached from politics back home. And nobody can or dares to stop him.”. 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After the death of his official consort were sent to critical journalists his Ink., and helicopters this would be hard to overstate the extent of what seems to be an medieval. Effect, it was given a four-day funeral complete with a mistress who. Making his power formal, visible, ” one person whispered to me who not. A mutual interdependence between the military literally drop to their knees when in his royal regalia, complete a... Contribution to Vox today, from as little as $ 3 while another reportedly fled to Myanmar when... To thailand king crop top a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines in full here that like his did! Still a bit of an absentee monarch, King Vajiralongkorn is most often seen parading in presence...