Thai king makes consort Sineenat his second queen on her birthday after leak of 1,400 naked selfies
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has reportedly crowned Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi as Queen on her 36th birthday. The 68-year-old royal has made his mistress, who is also known as Koi, his second queen as a birthday present to her. News of this latest development comes just one month after 1,400 "leaked naked selfies" of the king's mistress were leaked.
Speculations are on that the leak of these “very explicit” images is thought to be connected to a bitter rivalry between the King’s mistress and his official wife and former consort, Queen Suthida. The pictures that show Koi naked or semi-naked posing provocatively for the camera, comes after she rejoined the royal harem after being dramatically expelled and imprisoned last year. The new queen trained as a pilot in Thailand and abroad and served in his royal bodyguard unit. She was given back her royal and military titles after she was previously accused of seeking to undermine the king's wife.
British journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall, who writes critically about the Thai monarchy, received these pictures, The Times reported. "The photographs are clearly from Koi's personal phones," he wrote in a Facebook post. "Most of the images are photographs she took of herself, and dozens of them are very explicit. It seems probable that she had taken these explicit photographs of herself to send to Vajiralongkorn." Along with Marshall, the photographs were sent to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai academic who lives in Japan and faces criminal prosecution in Thailand for his critique of the monarchy.
The 1,443 nude pictures were taken between 2012 and 2014 and include revealing shots of Koi topless and in skimpy nightwear. In July 2019, Sineenat was handed the title of “chao khun phra”, meaning royal noble consort, during a ceremony to mark the king's 67th birthday. It was the first time in almost a century that a Thai monarch had taken a consort, after the 68-year-old king married his fourth wife 41-year-old Queen Suthida just three months earlier.
Less than three months after making Sineenat his royal consort, in October 2019, the king issued a command revoking the appointment and sending her to prison. The official statement accused his mistress of being “dishonourable, lacking gratitude [and of] disobedience against the king and the queen”.
With the latest change in his relationship status, the Thai king has made waves as many took to social media to share their thoughts. "that's absurd, a rung below trump," one said. The new Thai queen was also called names. "From what I’ve heard, the king’s consort (mistress) is an embarrassment to many Thai people. Actually an embarrassment to non-Thais also," one tweeted.
From what I’ve heard, the king’s consort (mistress) is an embarrassment to many Thai people. Actually an embarrassment to non-Thais also.
— 🌸Mama June (@im_mamajune) January 11, 2021
"How disgusting the Thai King is. I hate that when I go into lovely Thai restaurants there is usually a picture of this “Leader”. I would love if restaurants in the land of the free would fight “lese majeste’”, and #takehimdown" one tweeted also with respect to Thailand's controversial lese majeste law, commonly known as Article 112, which forbids people from criticising the Thai monarchy.
How disgusting the Thai King is. I hate that when I go into lovely Thai restaurants there is usually a picture of this “Leader”. I would love if restaurants in the land of the free would fight “lese majeste’”, and #takehimdown
— R. John Kuhn (@rationaladvisor) January 27, 2021
In January, 65-year-old former civil servant Anchan Preelert shared audio clips on Facebook and YouTube that included comments deemed critical of the monarchy, according to activists Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. She was jailed for 43 years and six months for insulting the Thai monarchy. Anchan pleaded guilty to 29 separate counts of violating the majeste law, her lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told Reuters.