Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has married the deputy head of his personal security detail in a surprise wedding and given her the title Queen Suthida, just days before his official coronation. The announcement of the unexpected ceremony, just three days before the long-awaited coronation, was made in the royal gazette and footage from Wednesday’s wedding ceremony was later shown on the nightly royal news segment aired on all Thai television channels.
Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 but the royal family still holds enormous loyalty, power and wealth in Thailand, with the king considered the spiritual protector of the people. The king is also insulated from criticism by some of the strictest lese majeste laws in the world.
In 2014, Vajiralongkorn appointed Suthida Tidjai, a former flight attendant for Thai Airways, as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. She was then promoted to full general in the army in December 2016 and has also been made a thanpuying, a royal title meaning lady.
