The Thai parliament yesterday invited Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become the next king, resolving lingering anxiety over his accession following his father’s death last month.
The nation has been plunged into mourning since widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Oct. 13, ending a remarkable seven-decade reign and removing a key pillar of unity in a bitterly divided nation.
Yesterday’s move ends a period of uncertainty sparked by the junta making the surprise announcement after Bhumibol’s death that the prince had asked to delay his official proclamation so he could mourn.
Photo: Reuters
“I will invite Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to succeed to the throne and become king of the Thai people,” Thai National Legislative Assembly President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said.
Lawmakers then stood up and replied: “Long live the king.”
The parliamentary endorsement came after the Cabinet officially submitted Vajiralongkorn’s name earlier in the day.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, the junta’s No. 2, said the prince’s ascension was “proceeding step-by-step” according to the nation’s arcane succession rules.
According to protocol, the assembly speaker would seek a royal audience with the prince to invite him to ascend the throne, the last step before being proclaimed the new monarch.
Prawit said that would likely happen “either tomorrow [Wednesday] or the day after.”
Vajiralongkorn, 64, has been the named successor to Bhumibol for more than four decades.
He spends much of his time outside the kingdom, particularly in southern Germany, where he owns property. A military source said the prince was in Germany yesterday.
He inherits one of the world’s richest monarchies, an institution protected by a tough royal defamation law.
That law makes open discussion about the royal family’s role all but impossible inside the kingdom and convictions have skyrocketed since generals seized power in 2014.
Officially Thailand’s monarch has limited constitutional power, but over his seven-decade reign, Bhumibol built up a powerful network of alliances, especially within Thailand’s military elite, and forged a reputation as an arbiter in times of crisis.
Yet the late king has left his son with a sharply divided nation.
Thailand’s past decade has seen a cycle of political protests and coups by an arch-royalist military, while inequality has deepened.
Dubbed the “lost decade,” Thailand’s most recent period of political unrest coincided with Bhumibol’s increasingly frail health and fewer public appearances.
Vajiralongkorn, a certified pilot, has yet to achieve his father’s widespread adoration.
Rumors about his private life have also trailed him. He has had three high-profile divorces, while a police corruption scandal linked to the family of his previous wife allowed the public a rare glimpse of palace affairs.
Since Bhumibol’s death, he has attended some of the daily funerary rites for his father, but has made no public statements.
He has asked his younger sister, Princess Sirindhorn, to oversee the organization of Bhumibol’s cremation, which will not take place until an official year-long mourning period has ended.
Historically, the new monarch in Thailand is only crowned once the previous monarch is cremated.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number