Rama X, weighed by lack of support, takes Thai throne

By Max Constant

BANGKOK

Thailand's new king began his role late Thursday with a clear popularity deficit, but there are yet few clues to the style of kingship he will exert.

Little is known about Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, a career military man who studied at the Australian military academy and later trained as a fighter jet pilot, as he seldom spoke publicly and seemed reluctant to participate in royal rituals.

In the last decade, Vajiralongkorn -- who ascended the throne six weeks after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and will reign under the name Rama X -- spent most of his time in Germany where he lived with a former Thai air hostess.

Because of the tradition which equates the king with a bodhisattva, a saintly Buddhist figure, the private life of Vajiralongkorn has been open to question.

Vajiralongkorn married and divorced three times, and had children with each of his three wives, but it is his relationship with his last wife that had met the most disdain.

Srirasmi was deprived of all her royal titles in November 2014 after her family was accused of abusing royal credentials for their own benefit, and the prince subsequently divorced her.

In 2015, her uncle, sister and two brothers were charged and remain in detention on charges of lese-majeste -- punished with a jail-term of between 3-15 years in the Kingdom

In November, a royal source -- who did not wish his identity to be known as he works within the prince's entourage -- told Anadolu Agency, however, that in his 10 years in the prince's company he has known him to be an intelligent man who wants to bring progress to his country.

He recognized, however, the authoritarian character of the new king.

As a prince, Vajiralongkorn has never visibly intervened into politics. His father, however, acted decisively to solve political crises in October 1973 and in May 1992 and, more recently, made speeches interpreted as giving political guidance.

Over the past year, Thailand’s junta has been preparing for the prince's coronation with concerted efforts to raise his profile.

Events such as high-profile cycling events led by the prince to honour Queen Sirikit and King Bhumibol went well, but a lese-majeste scandal erupted in relation to the first which saw several people, including police and military officers, charged and detained.

A fortune-teller close to the prince and a police officer were subsequently found dead while under military detention.

The junta said that the fortune teller died of “blood infection”, and the police officer hung himself, but their bodies were cremated without proper autopsies.

As he takes the throne, Vajiralongkorn will find himself sat with a powerful regime who have for decades drawn legitimacy from their association with the monarchy and have an interest in maintaining it as a key institution for the country.

For Thailand's many royal observers, however, the main uncertainty is whether the new king will agree to play along with the armed forces, or if he will try to act more independently and make his mark.