Bangkok : Thai Crown Prince’s wife has relinquished her royal position after several of her relatives were arrested in a corruption scandal, the palace has announced. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand has accepted Princess Srirasmi’s written request, the palace said in a statement.
“King has granted permission to announce that Princess Srirasmi, the wife of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, has informed in a written document that she has resigned from her royal status,” it said. “Acknowledgement and permission has been granted by His Majesty the King,” it said.
The statement comes weeks after Prince Vajiralongkorn asked the government to strip several members of Srirasami’s family of a royally-issued surname after they were detained along with some police officers in a corruption investigation. Princess Srirasmi married the Crown Prince in 2001. The couple has a son who is thought to be Vajiralongkorn’s most likely heir.
Thailand is world’s longest-reigning monarch, King Bhumibol, a widely revered, loved and unifying figure, has been on the throne in Thailand since 1946. The kingdom’s strict law criminalises any critical comment about the monarchy.
Jaishree Balasubramanian
