Thailand’s king has stripped his royal consort of her titles and military ranks for disloyalty, accusing her of seeking to undermine the position of his official wife, the country’s queen, for her own benefit.
The royal command by 67-year-old Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, made public on Monday, came just three months after he granted 34-year-old Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi the consort title, reviving an old palace tradition of taking a junior wife.
Sineenat had her title of Chao Khun Phra Sineenatra Bilasakalayani withdrawn, along with other royal and military titles and decorations.
Photo: Reuters
The king in May named longtime companion Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya his queen when they were married a few days before his formal coronation.
Vajiralongkorn assumed the throne after the 2016 death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years.
Monday’s command condemned Sineenat in harsh terms, concluding that her actions “are considered dishonorable, lacking gratitude, unappreciative of royal kindness and driving a rift among the royal servants, making misunderstanding among the people, and undermining the nation and the monarchy.”
Both the 41-year-old Suthida and Sineenat have served as senior officers in palace security units. Suthida was previously a flight attendant with Thai Airways, while Sineenat was an army nurse.
The royal command went into unusual detail in explaining why the action was taken against Sineenat.
It accused her of misbehaving by boldly seeking to block Suthida’s appointment as queen to take the position herself, and said that when she failed to block her rival, her “ambitions and aspirations” led her to continue to seek ways to promote herself.
The statement said the king tried to alleviate the problem and take pressure off the monarchy by appointing Sineenatra his official royal consort.
“She wasn’t satisfied with the royally bestowed position and still did everything to be equal to the queen,” it said.
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