Thailand’s Controversial King Outrages Subjects
Amid unparalleled public anger, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn flew into Thailand for a few hours from his German refuge on April 5 to celebrate Chakri Memorial Day commemorating the 17th-century coronation of Rama I and the establishment of the Chakri dynasty, of which he is the tenth in the line, then flew out again as soon as he could.
The 67-year-old king was in Thailand just about long enough to commemorate the event. Then he was scheduled to turn around the Thai Airways International airliner carrying him and his royal entourage and fly back to Germany, apparently convincing German and Thai authorities there was no need for quarantine before and after the trip, according to documents unearthed by Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a former Reuters bureau chief in Bangkok who has become one of the regime’s most trenchant critics.
John Berthelsen writes for Asia Sentinel.
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