Who is the new King of Thailand?

Maha Vajiralongkorn has been pronounced as Thailand's new king since 2016. Being the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, his reign commenced 50 days after his father’s demise.

Reign of Maha Vajiralongkorn

Inheritance of the throne

There were decades of uncertainty over the royal succession of Thailand. Maha Vajiralongkorn was born on 28 July 1952 as the first son and second child of the King and Queen. He was made crown prince by his father at the age of 20 in 1972.

After his father's death on 13 October 2016, he accepted the throne on the night of December 1^st, 2016. He became the monarch when he was 64 years old, making him the oldest Thai monarch to take over the throne.

Crowning

The three-day crowning ceremonies of Vajiralongkorn took place on 4–6 May 2019. He was given the title of Phrabat Somdet Phra Vajira Klao Chao Yu Hua, being the first in nearly 100 years.

Direct political involvement

The highlighted points of the Thailand king’s direct political involvement include –

• A rare intervention by a reigning Thai monarch on royal power issues in the draft constitution
• An emergency royal decree was issued in 2019 against his elder sister’s candidacy for the Thai prime minister-ship of the Thaksin-allied Thai Raksa Chart Party, stating her candidacy as ‘inappropriate and unconstitutional’. Hence, she was disqualified by Thailand's election commission.
• Vajiralongkorn has direct authority over the royal household and palace security agencies.

Read more: The 5 best places to retire in Thailand for 2020

Controversies

Vajiralongkorn is considered one of the controversial kings of the world. All over Thailand, various protests keep happening against his reign in 2020. His name is always in the headlines for his disputes.

However, he is the wealthiest king in the world as of 2020, having a net worth around US$30 billion.