Thai crown prince accepts invitation to become new king
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, has officially become Thailand’s new king, succeeding his late father who ruled the Southeast Asian country for seven decades.
The new monarch, who received the title “His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun,” assumed his new position on Thursday, nearly two months after the old monarch’s demise.
The new king will also be known as Rama X, the tenth king in the Chakri dynasty.
Senior officials held a special ceremony presenting the formal invitation to the prince to become king. The prince accepted the invitation in a televised broadcast.
The new king, with a less intense interest in state affairs, does not command the same level of respect as his revered late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose death plunged the kingdom into intense mourning.
King Bhumibol died on October 13 at the age of 88 after many years of illness.
In 1972, King Bhumibol had designated Vajiralongkorn, his second child and only son, as the crown prince.
The prince was expected to succeed, but officials had earlier said he wanted to postpone it by at least a year in order to grieve with the nation.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy where the king plays a mainly ceremonial rule which was vested to the former prime minister, Prem Tinsulanonda, who had been one of his father’s closest advisers.
The country is currently being led by the junta through Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The official coronation of Vajiralongkorn will take place after the official cremation ceremony of King Bhumibol.
The late king’s remains are to be cremated in an elaborate ceremony that may take place in a year or more.
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