Bangkok, Dec 5 (EFE).- The second born son of Thailand’s king paid tribute Tuesday to his grandfather, the late King Bhumibol.
The visit, his second since August after spending 27 years in exile, comes amid mounting speculation about the royal succession.
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, 42, the second son of King Vajiralongkorn and his second wife, shared photos of his visit to the monument dedicated to his grandfather in Bangkok on Bhumibol’s birthday anniversary, which also commemorates Father’s Day.
Later, Vacharaensorn, who arrived Monday in Thailand from the United States, participated in a Buddhist ceremony at the Pathum Wanaram temple, which houses the remains of some members of the royal family.
The monarch’s son, the third of Vajiralongkorn’s seven children, was accompanied by an entourage and his activities were covered by journalists, although it is not an official visit.
On his last visit, he was joined by his brother Chakriwat, which was his first trip to his homeland since leaving 27 years ago to live with his mother and three brothers in the US.
They then visited temples, children’s charities and Chinatown, where they took selfies with passers-by who recognized them.
Vacharaesorn’s trip comes almost a year after the monarch’s first-born daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, suffered a heart attack. She has since been in hospital, apparently unconscious, although no official information on her condition has been provided.
The first-born daughter’s ailing health has also opened a debate on the succession of King Vajiralongkorn, 71, who does not have a clear heir to the throne.
«It has become clear that the Thai royal family faces a succession crisis. A key to the survival of monarchies is the ability to have a sufficient number of competent successors,» said Thai historian Pavin Chachavalpongpun in an article in August in the magazine Council on Foreign Relations.
Born in 1981 and a lawyer by profession, Vacharaesorn was born out of a romantic relationship between Vajiralongkorn and actress Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, with whom he had four sons and a daughter while he had not yet divorced his cousin Soamsawali (his first wife between 1977-1991 and mother of his first daughter.)
Following his first divorce, Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne in 2016 after the death of his father, married Sujarinee in 1994, although their marriage only lasted two years.
After the abrupt breakup, she and her four male children moved to the US, while Princess Sirivannavari (sixth daughter of the monarch) grew up with her father.
She was the only one of the five siblings who participated in the wedding ceremonies and coronation of the current king and is a visible part of the royal family.
Vacharaesorn and his brothers have grown up away from the royal family in the US and do not appear in the photographs published on the Royal Family’s website.
King Vajiralongkorn, who divorced for the third time and married Queen Suthida in 2019, enjoys significantly less popularity than his father, who reigned for seven decades and whom many Thais revered as the father of the nation and as a practically semi-divine figure. EFE
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