Favorite Royal Images: A Great King

HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great

a great king with great style

Anniversary of the King of Thailand

It was today in 1946 that HM Bhumibol Adulyadej became King of Thailand upon the mysterious death of his older brother King Ananda Mahidol. He remains the longest serving head of state in the world today, beloved in his country for his service to his people and respected around the world for keeping Thailand on an even keel during many decades of tumult in the region. Long live the King!

MM Video: Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great

60 Years for the Lord of Life

Yesterday HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand made a rare public appearance during the celebration of his 60th anniversary as King of Thailand. Expressions of loyalty were great and widespread, from the streets to internet social networking sites. The King attended a Buddhist ceremony in the Royal Palace with top government officials and was given a 63 gun salute before returning to the hospital admist huge crowds of loyal Thais shouting 'long live the king'!

The occasion was an opportunity for red and yellow shirts to put aside their differences for a day and the red shirts were quick to express their loyalty and protest at the accusations made by others that their victory would imperil the Thai monarchy. That is really nothing new and I tend to think that 'they doth protest too much'. There is, after all, a reason why the red shirts are accused of disloyalty to the monarchy but the yellow shirts are not (see a short run-down on the differences here). It is worth noting that, around the world, it is the most anti-monarchy radical leftists and communists who speak with the most glowing support of the red shirts.

The red shirts, regardless of the feelings of the rank and file, are putting the monarchy in danger simply by their actions that are de-stabilizing the country. Should the situation get out of hand and lead to outright conflict it would mean that either the military puts down the reds and total power is held by a general or if the reds win it would mean that total power would be in the hands of a left-wing populist, either one of which could decide to discard the monarchy when the current king dies. Pol Pot pretended to be loyal to the King in Cambodia too but once firmly in control he abolished the monarchy. As I recently pointed out, in Mongolia the communists came to power professing loyalty to the Bogd Khan but upon his death ended the monarchy. So, no matter what most of the red-shirts in Thailand think about the monarchy, by causing chaos they are at the very least helping to create an opportunity for someone more extreme and more republican to step in, take power and destroy what has been (alongside Malaysia) the shining example of monarchial success in Southeast Asia.

Happy Birthday King Bhumibol the Great!

Today His Majesty King Bhumibol Aduladej the Great of Thailand, Rama IX, celebrates his 82nd birthday. The revered monarch was cheered by thousands of loyal subjects wearing pink for his still fragile health and waving flags for the occasion. The King appeared at the Grand Palace and gave an address to the nation, his first since taking ill over a month ago, and said that his primary source of happiness is the prosperity, peace and stability of his country. He also urged his people to help each other and devote themselves to good works. Afterwards the obviously tired monarch returned to the hospital for continued obseravtion. The Mad Monarchist extends to His Majesty a heartfelt happy birthday and best wishes for many more years of life to come.

Worries for the Thai King

After being hospitalized for more than two weeks there are growing fears in Thailand that the aged and frail "Lord of Life" may be nearing the end of his own. The palace has been trying to play down the seriousness of the beloved monarch's condition but as time passes more people are starting to worry. King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great was hospitalized for fever and lung inflamation and it now seems that he must have suffered a stroke. Thais have been gathering outside the hospital clasping portraits of the King, chanting Buddhist prayers and wearing pink which, during an earlier illness, a royal astrologer said was a color beneficial to the King's health. In the south of the country the Muslim minority has directed prayers for the King's recovery. As the longest reigning head of state in the world most Thais cannot remember a time when Rama IX was not on the throne and his intervention in times of political crisis as well as his tireless efforts to improve the lot of his people has made him one of the most beloved and revered monarchs in the world; even by the standards of a country whose monarchs have traditionally been considered semi-divine to begin with. The Mad Monarchist joins all Thais and admirers around the world in wishing a swift and full recovery to the "Great King of Siam".

Kingdom of Thailand in Turmoil

The Kingdom of Thailand is coming dangerously close to chaos in recent days and the Associated Press has reported today that the government has revoked the passport of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin came to power on a wave of populist peasant support but was ousted in a coup and later fled the country before being convicted of corruption. In recent days the "red shirts" supporting Thaksin have taken to the streets and have clashed with the more royalist "yellow shirts" who oppose him. The sitting Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has stated that the leaders of the latest protest will be prosecuted but that he is willing to sit down and talk with Thaksin's supporters. Given the claims of dishonesty made about Thaksin's electoral rise to power I have my doubts that any new elections would be accepted as valid by either side in the red-yellow dispute. Thaksin himself has become more strident, at one point even calling for revolution. In short, Thailand could use some royal intervention.
But where is the monarch? His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX, the "Lord of Life" is as revered by his people as ever and this is just the sort of occasion in the past that would have prompted him to step in, lecture the opposing parties and by immense depths of loyalty which their semi-divine monarch commands among the people bring the crisis to an end. However, the aging king has not been out in public much lately and when he has, even some time back, it was widely noticed that his age is catching up to him. In all probability he simply cannot act in the same manner as in years past and it does not bode well for the future of the Thai monarchy or the peace and order of his kingdom. Because he has been such an outstanding and beloved king the bar has been set impossibly high and many doubt the ability of his son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, to be as successful as his father has been.
It would be hoped that Thailand and Cambodia would be examples of the benefits of monarchy to other dictatorial regimes of Southeast Asia. However, they all suffer from the same illness: revolutionary liberalism and/or communism. There are many hints of it in the political movement of Thaksin, Laos is a communist state (directed from Hanoi and with a Vietnamese garrison), Vietnam is a communist state and Cambodia has had the same pro-Viet communist Prime Minister since the current regime was born. Burma is in a class by itself. What is needed in all of these countries (and many others around the world) is a strident campaign to wipe out the revolutionary elements and, in society and education in particular, emphasize a national campaign to encourage loyalty to the monarchist principle and a religious revival to strengthen the bonds between the two institutions. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn needs to display some leadership and, in the meantime, everyone needs to support and hope for long life for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.