King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time in Germany already – having a $12m mansion at Lake Starnberg, but he too faces the challenges of the coronavirus. However, being a King comes with some perks.
Despite all hotels having to close due to the crisis, the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl has applied for and received a special permit to remain open so that the Thai King could rent out all of its room for his harem of 20 women and his servants.
A spokesperson for the district office confirmed the granting of the permit, “The Garmisch-Partenkirchen district office granted the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl an exception because the guests are a single, homogeneous group of people with no fluctuation.” No other guests are allowed to stay at the hotel.
Despite several measures in the areas, such as a curfew, the King has been spotted outside with several of the women, riding bicycles.
It has also been reported that King sent 119 servants back to Bangkok by plane because he suspected them of being ill with COVID-19.
There has been rising criticism of the King’s failure to return to Thailand in the online community. The hashtag #Whydoweneedaking was trending for a while. However, insulting the monarchy is a crime in Thailand and a government minister warned that any inappropriate posts could be punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The King’s fourth wife, Queen Suthida is also said to spend most of her time in a luxury hotel in Switzerland. It is unclear if she is still living there.
