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The King of Thailand has stripped his official mistress of her title, just months after making the rare appointment, over accusations that she was “disloyal” to the crown and attempted to “rise to the level of the queen”.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as King Rama X, named Major-General Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, 34, the official Royal Noble Consort just months after his own coronation in May and marriage to his fourth wife, former consort and Thai Airways flight attendant, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn.
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But on Monday, a two-page statement from the Royal Palace revealed that Sineenat had been stripped of her title and military ranks after she breached the code of conduct in her “ambitious” efforts to be named queen.
This undated photo posted Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Thailand Royal Office website shows Major General Sineenatra Wongvajirabhakdi, the royal noble consort of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.(Thailand Royal Office via AP)
“Royal Noble Consort Sineenat is ungrateful and behaves in ways unbecoming of her title,” the statement read, in a translation from Reuters. “She is also not content with the title bestowed upon her, doing everything to rise to the level of the queen.”
The statement claimed she took advantage of her position by falsely claiming royal prerogatives to order people around, "making people misunderstand her position to gain profit and popularity for herself."
This undated photo posted Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 on the Thailand Royal Office website shows King Maha Vajiralongkorn with Major General Sineenatra Wongvajirabhakdi, the royal noble consort. (Thailand Royal Office via AP)
The statement said that Sineenat opposed the crowning of Suthida, 41, as queen because she had hoped to be given the appointment herself. Instead, she was named chief concubine in July, making her the first official mistress of the king since the end of Thailand’s absolute monarchy in 1932.
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“She lacks the understanding of the good traditions of the royal court. She displays disobedience against the king and the queen,” the statement continued.
Since taking over the throne following the 70-year rule of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama X’s personal life has become the subject of public discussion — but often in hushed tones because speaking poorly of the royal family is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
This undated photo posted Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Thailand Royal Office website shows King Maha Vajiralongkorn with Major General Sineenatra Wongvajirabhakdi, the royal noble consort. (Thailand Royal Office via AP)
It was not immediately clear if Sineenat would be punished for her insubordination to the crown.
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Rama X, 67, has been married 4 times. He married his first cousin, Princess Soamsawali Kitiyakara, in 1977 and had one child. They later divorced but not before he fathered five children with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, who eventually became his second wife. They married in 1994 but divorced two years later. In 2001, Rama X married his third wife and they had one child in their 13-year marriage before divorcing in 2014.