Thai princess steps into tense political fray, leaves king upset
BANGKOK: She is one of the most high profile members of Thailand’s royal family.
Now Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya - the sister of monarch King Maha Vajiralongkorn and eldest child of former King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016 - is stepping into the country’s political fray, today announcing her candidacy for prime minister in the upcoming election.
The Thai king, however, is unhappy with the move, saying that his sister’s decision is “inappropriate”.
She has been named the candidate for a party linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a shake-up before the March 24 polls. Shinawatra was ousted in a coup in 2006, and his sister Yingluck - also a former PM - was overthrown by the military in 2014.
The princess’s social media profile shows she agreed with a Thaksin tweet that appeared to be a veiled criticism of the junta after Yingluck was forced to flee the country in 2017.
Ubolratana relinquished her royal title on July 25, 1972 when she married American Peter Jensen. She received her Bachelor of Science from MIT and went on to receive her Masters in public health at the University of California.
She’s one of several royals to give up their title for love, from Britain’s King Edward, who abdicated to marry American Wallis Simpson in 1936 to Japan’s Princess Mako, who’s announced her intention to give up her royal title to marry Kei Komuro, a lawyer.
Ubolratana lived in the US for 26 years until 1998, when she divorced Jensen and returned to Thailand.