Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn Marries Bodyguard, Names Her queen

Bangkok: Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn has married a former flight attendant turned royal guard in a surprise ceremony and designated her Queen Suthida, just days before his own coronation. The king's new bride was formerly the deputy head of his personal security detail, the Guardian reported. The surprise announcement came just ahead of Vajiralongkorn's coronation was announced in the royal gazette. The report also carried footage from Wednesday's wedding ceremony.

The news of the royal wedding was later also shown in the royal news segment aired on all Thai television channels late Wednesday. Vajiralongkorn, 66, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. Bhumibol had ruled for 70 years. Vajiralongkorn is scheduled to be officially crowned in elaborate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies on Saturday, followed by a procession through the capital. In 2014, Vajiralongkorn appointed Suthida Tidjai, a former flight attendant for Thai Airways, as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit. Some royal observers and foreign media had linked Suthida romantically with the king, but the palace had previously never acknowledged any relationship, the Guardian report said. (IANS)

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