Ceremony offers glimpses of family ties
BANGKOK: A normally inscrutable king pulls his sister in for a hug and selfies of royal siblings rebound across Instagram – the coronation of King Rama X has provided Thais rare glimpses into a highly private family cocooned by palace protocols.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, was crowned on Saturday in a sumptuous ceremony rich in symbolism and ritual.
The monarchy is the apex of Thai society and projections of its power are unmissable in the kingdom, from towering portraits of the sternfaced king to stiff-backed rituals and public appearances relayed nightly on television news.
But King Rama X remains an intensely private figure, spending much of his time overseas.
The enigma of the new king is double-locked by one of the world’s harshest royal defamation laws, which keep a tight lid on the dissemination of royal gossip and prevent public criticism inside the kingdom.
His coronation has stirred curiosity over the goings-on inside the royal court.
“I would like to see them loosen up a bit more so we can get to know them,” 22-year-old student Jin said near the Grand Palace, declining to give her full name.
Throughout the coronation formalities, the king has remained unsmiling – befitting the sombre, symbol-laden ceremonies held in front of a coterie of palace officials and generals.
Newspapers ran photos of a warm meeting late on Friday between the king and his family in a palace hall.
There were big smiles and a hug for Princess Ubolratana, his colourful Instagram-posting elder sister.
True to form, Ubolratana – seen as one of the more approachable royals – posted beaming selfies with her younger sister Princess Sirindhorn.
Ubolratana’s warm exchange with her brother comes after he dashed her political aspirations in the lead-up to the March 24 elections, torpedoing her nomination as a prime ministerial candidate by a now-dissolved political party.