The wife of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn has not been seen in public since December 28. Queen Suthida was supposed to represent her husband at a funeral ceremony on Monday, but the royal concubine Sineenat appeared in place of the queen.
The palace gave no explanation for Suthida’s absence. She did appear briefly in the royal news on Thai television on Sunday evening, but it turned out to be recordings made in mid-December.
Observers speak of a fierce internal struggle between the queen and the “noble mate” for the favors of the fickle Vajiralongkorn.
Recently, this has increasingly appeared with Sineenat, better known in Thailand as Koi. On Sunday the court distributed an edifying drawing that the king had made.
Koning has pushed wives aside before
What immediately stood out about the print was the reference to Koi. However, the fact that it had been announced earlier in the official calendar that the Queen would attend the funeral ceremony was a reassurance to many that Suthida has not been dismissed.
Suthida would not be Vajiralongkorn’s first wife to be dismissed. Three women already preceded her: Princess Soamsawali, Sujarinee Vivacharawongse and Srirasmi Suwadee. Only Soamsawali, a niece of the king, is still in royal circles because of her ancestry.
Vivacharawongse has been sent into exile with four of her five children and Suwadee is in a prison camp, a fate that befell Sineenat for nearly a year. Therefore, there are now concerns about the fate of Suthida, whom Vajiralongkorn married in May 2019.
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