Sineenat Wong Vajira Pakdi - Thailand's royal concubine reappears, will the waves of the Thai harem return?

Sineenat Wong Vajira Pakdi, 35 years old, was once the royal concubine of King Maha Vajiralongkorn until she was deposed in October 2019. She was accused of "disloyalty to the king" and "resisting the appointment of the Empress (Suthida)... for personal ambition".

Two months ago, when Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn waved to thousands of supporters in Bangkok, next to him was Queen Suthida. Among the crowd was also seen Royal Consort Sineenat Wong Vajira Pakdi, marking her return after nearly a year of being expelled from the royal family for disloyalty.

On September 2, the Royal Gazette announced that Ms. Sineenat had been handed back her noble title. She has not appeared in public since she was deposed and the royal consort's whereabouts have yet to be officially revealed.

Considered "never deposed"

The announcement on September 2 also included restoring her rank of major general. Under an order approved by the king at the end of August, Ms. Sineenat was deemed "not guilty". The palace statement said "from now on, the royal consort is considered to have never been stripped of her military rank or royal title".

While the news that Ms. Sineenat was deposed caused a stir in Thai public opinion in 2019, her reinstatement on September 2 did not attract public attention.

Since being reinstated in September, Ms. Sineenat, 35, has made trips to Thailand's provinces. According to political scientist Puangchon Unchanam from Naresuan University, Ms. Sineenat's public role - aka Koi - is to attract the support of young people because she is young, energetic, beautiful and friendly. . However, her return also fueled speculation about turbulence in the harem, especially after the scandal that spread thousands of private photos of Ms. Sineenat last month.

On November 1, Ms Sineenat was seen posing for pictures with supporters and shaking their hands - gestures not commonly seen in a member of the royal family.

German newspaper Bild on September 1 reported that King Vajiralongkorn had brought her to Germany.

According to the newspaper, Ms. Sineenat traveled by private plane to Munich on August 29 and then drove to a four-star hotel in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Alps, part of the German state of Bavaria.

Earlier it was reported that King Vajiralongkorn had "isolated" himself at a hotel with an entourage of 20 women for most of the time of the pandemic. The king is said to have rented the entire 4th floor and set up this harem as a military unit.

The title of royal consort has not existed in Thailand since the totalitarian monarchy was abolished in 1932. After nearly 100 years, the Thai king restored the title and gave it to Mrs. Sineenat.

Sineenat officially became the royal consort in July 2019, on the king's 67th birthday, just two months after the king married Queen Suthida, his fourth wife. She was the first person to be awarded the title of Royal Consort in nearly a century. Before Ms. Sineenat, the last time a Thai king conferred the title of royal consort was in the 1920s.

Queen Suthida Tidjai is a former flight attendant and is considered the official wife of the King of Thailand. King Vajiralongkorn is the first king of this country to have more concubines since his grandfather King Chulalongkorn, who had four queens and many other concubines.

From royal noise to reform demonstrations

Immediately after being crowned in 2019, Royal Consort Sineenat, who was once promoted to major general in the army, became the focus of attention thanks to dozens of photos posted on the official website of the Thai royal family. . In it, there is a picture of her sitting in the cockpit of an airplane with a camouflage sports shirt.

In other photos, she is aiming to fire an assault rifle or holding the king's pet dog. When she was deposed in October 2019, Sineenat was accused by the palace of "misconduct and disloyalty to the king".

According to an official biography published by the palace in 2019, Ms. Sineenat was born in 1985 in Nan province, about 500 kilometers north of Bangkok. After graduating from the military medical academy in 2008 and working as a nurse until 2012, she joined the Royal Thai Office as an employee and worked for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, then crown prince. .

Ms. Sineenat then joined the Royal Thai Guard, becoming a colonel in 2015 before being promoted to major general.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn spent little time in Thailand, preferring to live in Europe instead. Since his father's death in 2016, he has assumed direct control of the royal treasury.

Thailand is bound by strict laws that protect the monarchy from criticism. Offenders can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

However, in recent weeks there has been a peaceful protest movement against the Thai government, calling for reforms to the country's monarchy.

This student-led protest broke the taboo of openly discussing the monarchy. At one rally, participants proposed a ten-point reform agenda for the existing institution. The protesters also called for judicial and political reforms and an end to the military's domination of politics.

Thailand has seen dozens of successful coups. The most recent coup was in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the monarchy. The event helped General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the coup, become prime minister.

McGregor Marshall, a Scottish journalist specializing in reporting on the Thai royal family, said that Sineenat's return could make many people unhappy. "It is very likely that the distribution of private images is part of an effort to sabotage the return of the Royal Concubine," said Mr. McGregor, predicting that the turmoil in the Thai harem will not stop.

Earlier, according to a notice issued by the Royal Thai Royal Family on October 21, King Maha Vajiralongkorn stripped the royal title, military rank and revoked the medals of his Royal Highness Consort Sineenart Pilas Kalayanee. This decision was made just three months after Ms. Pilas Kalayanee was ordained to the noble and powerful position of the Thai Royal Family.

The announcement of the Thai Royal Family stated that the Royal Consort Sineenart protested that King Maha Vajiralongkorn ordained Queen Suthida Tidjai, right at the time of the king's coronation ceremony in May. The ceremony took place only. days after the King announced his marriage to Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, a former flight attendant and deputy commander of the bodyguard.

Mrs. Sineenart, who had publicly opposed the king's marriage, tried to put pressure on the king to prevent the king from making Ms. Suthida his queen. According to the announcement of the Thai Royal Family, Ms. Sineenart wanted to convince the king to make her queen and the motive behind this move was because of "personal ambition".

"Sineenat took actions to protest against the ordination of Queen Suthida after she married King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 1, 2019. Sineenat tried everything to prevent the ordination and hope for the king. make herself queen," the announcement said.

Also according to the announcement, "to defuse conflicts and prevent inappropriate acts against the royal family and the country" Thailand, King Maha Vajiralongkorn still awarded the title "Chao Khun Phra" or also known as Royal noble. for Mrs. Sineenat. The king also hoped that the coronation of a royal concubine would relieve pressure and avoid problems that could affect the Thai royal family.

However, Sineenat's ambition did not stop even when she was seated in the position of Royal Consort. A statement from the Thai Royal Family said that Ms. Sineenat "does not respect royal etiquette and traditions". She showed "disobedience to the king and queen", even "violating the royal prerogative" when giving orders related to the activities of the king.

The royal concubine seems to be dissatisfied with the newly granted title and tries every way to rise to the throne of queen.

"Sineenat did not understand royal tradition and acted against the king and queen. She took advantage of her new position to give orders to people, pretending that it was a royal order. Also, she also asked people to comply with her personal wishes, stating that she received royal orders and acted on behalf of the king," the statement said.

Despite ordained Sineenat as Royal Consort, King Maha Vajiralongkorn watched her every move and realized that she was behaving inappropriately for her position. The king also understood that the royal consort was still not satisfied with the title he gave him.

"Prince consort Sineenat is not grateful and behaves in a way that is not worthy of her title. She is also not content with the title given, but does everything to elevate herself to the queen's level... Behavior Her work shows disrespect to the king and causes division among courtiers and misunderstandings among the public," the statement added.

Hoàng hậu Thái Lan Suthida: Sóng gió hậu cung với 21 "vợ bé", được công chúng yêu mến hết lòng N.P16:11:48 15/12/2022Trong dàn hậu cung, người thường được đem ra so sánh với Hoàng hậu Suthida nhiều nhất chính là Hoàng quý phi Sineenat. Tuy nhiên, chưa đầy 3 tháng sau khi được sắc phong Hoàng quý phi, vào ngày 21/10/2019, nhà vua đã bất ngờ thông báo lệnh phế truất đối với Hoàng...