Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File)
Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, was appointed crown prince by his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1972. Born on July 28, 1952, he is the second and only son of the four children of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit.
He was educated at private schools in Britain and Australia before attending the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra. According to the prince’s official biography, he is a qualified helicopter and fighter pilot, and holds the honorary military ranks of general, admiral and air chief marshal.
The prince married three times. In 1977, he married his cousin, Princess Soamsawali, with whom he has a daughter. They divorced in 1993 and a year after, he married actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth with whom he has four sons and a daughter. They divorced in 1996.
In 2001, the prince married Srirasmi Suwadee with whom he has a son. They divorced in 2014 after Srirasmi’s relatives were arrested for being involved in a corruption investigation into people who made false claims of having links to the monarchy for financial gain.
In August 2015, the prince led key figures of the current junta and thousands of others in a mass bike ride through Bangkok, a rare high-profile appearance which analysts said amounted to a public declaration of support from the country’s military rulers.
But he has yet to draw the same level of public devotion as his revered father. —INQUIRER RESEARCH
Sources: New York Times, AFP