There are questions on the whereabouts of Thailand’s Queen Suthida who hasn’t been seen in person since 28 December. The King, Rama X, has been seen with his concubine, Royal Noble Consort Sineenat since that time.
After people began questioning the disappearance of Queen Suthida on social media, photos of the Queen surfaced on 7 February on Thai royal news. However, those images were taken back in December and were not new images from a new appearance.
There are concerns for the 42-year-old consort as King Maha Vajiralongkorn has a history of divorcing wives, banishing them from the country and even imprisoning them when he grows tired of them. His second wife, Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, was accused of adultery and moved to the United States. She and the King had five children – four sons and one daughter. He stripped her and their sons of their titles and took their only daughter back to Thailand.
Third wife, Srirasmi, is now on house arrest and her family has also been imprisoned.
In the case of his Royal Noble Consort, Sineenat was named his official concubine in early 2019, but by October 2019, he stripped her of all her titles, military and government ranks after she reportedly tried to undermine Queen Suthida. She was then imprisoned for months before he forgave her and reinstated her titles.
Critic of the Thai monarchy, Andrew MacGregor Marshall, claimed on Twitter that there are suspicions that Suthida is being punished for her opposition to the King elevating Sineenat to the role as queen. The Thai Royal Household has never confirmed the promotion of the Royal Noble Consort.
There are rumours the Queen Suthida will make an appearance on Friday, 12 February at the celebrations for the Chinese New Year alongside King Rama X. Whether or not these rumours pan out remains to be seen.
