Thai king’s son eyes returning home for good

BANGKOK: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s second son said in an interview published on Thursday that he wanted to return to the Southeast Asian kingdom permanently after living abroad for more than two decades.

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse grew up in the United States following his parents’ divorce in the 1990s, but he made an unexpected visit to Thailand last August.

The trip was closely followed by Thai media, but there was no official comment from the palace.

Now back in the country, the 42yearold told the Bangkok Post newspaper he wanted to move back but insisted he had “no aspirations” of his own.

He said he was there “privately” and intended to make his return permanent.

“No one told me to come. I am not representing anyone,” he said. “I don’t want to compete for anything ... I have no resources, no power.”

Vacharaesorn is the second of four sons from the king’s second marriage to former actress Sujarinee Vivacharawongse. None hold official royal titles.

“I don’t have aspirations beyond providing value in my own capacity,” he told the Bangkok Post.

In recent weeks, he has shared Instagram images of visiting a temple in the northern city of Chiang Mai, as well as meeting the Lawyers Council of Thailand.

Vacharaesorn also told the newspaper he had obtained a Thai passport and ID, and would move from the US — where he works as a lawyer — to live permanently in the kingdom.

The palace has not commented on the visit.

The king, who has seven children from four marriages, has not formally named an heir, though succession rules favor sons.

His eldest daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, remains in the hospital after collapsing and losing consciousness in 2022.

The monarch and his close family are protected by Thailand’s strict royal insult laws, which shield them from almost all criticism and can carry heavy jail sentences.

In September, Vacharaesorn called for an open discussion of the country’s tough lesemajeste laws after visiting an exhibition in New York highlighting those persecuted under the legislation.

Critics have long maintained that the laws have been weaponized to silence dissent.