Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has stripped his 34-year-old consort of all titles, less than three months after she was bestowed with the position in a bizarre kneeling ceremony.
Former army nurse Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi was dismissed from the rank of ‘Chao Khun Phra’ for ‘disloyalty to the king,’ the Royal Gazette said, as well as ‘acting against the appointment of the Queen (Suthida)… for her own ambitions.’
King Vajiralongkorn had made the woman his consort in a ceremony attended by his new wife in August, marking the first time the country’s modern monarchy has publicly admitted to polygamy.
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has stripped his 34-year-old consort (pictured together) of all titles, less than three months after she was bestowed with the position in a bizarre kneeling ceremony
Former army nurse Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi was dismissed from the rank of ‘Chao Khun Phra’ for ‘disloyalty to the king’
And the August ceremony was less than three months after he married another royal consort – Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, who had been a Thai Airways flight attendant.
He poured ceremonial water over Ms Sineenat’s head to officially anoint her a concubine during a televised service on Sunday.
During the service she lay on the floor to remain lower than the King’s feet, in accordance Thai royal tradition.
King Vajiralongkorn had made the woman his consort in a ceremony attended by his new wife in August, marking the first time the country’s modern monarchy has publicly admitted to polygamy
Ms Sineenat (pictured in 2017), who is known as Koi but used to be called Niramon Ounprom, was formerly a nurse at the Ananda Mahidol army hospital
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn standing with former royal noble consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani, also known as Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, while holding his cherished poodle
The move marked the first time a Thai king has publicly had more than one partner since an absolute monarch ruled the country in 1932.
Major General Sineenat was also given four medals, such as ‘most noble order of the crown of Thailand’ and ‘most exalted order of the white elephant, special class’, as well as being lauded for her time as a senior officer in the King’s bodyguard team the Ratchawallop Police Retainers.
Ms Sineenat, who is known as Koi but used to be called Niramon Ounprom, was formerly a nurse at the Ananda Mahidol army hospital.
Born in the northern province of Nan, she graduated from the Royal Thai Army Nursing College, trained as a pilot in Thailand and abroad, and served in the king’s royal bodyguard unit, reaching the rank of major-general in May.
Thailand’s palace has released rare images and a biography of the king’s newly-annointed royal consort
Sineenat, who is known as Koi but used to be called Niramon Ounprom, was formerly a nurse at the Ananda Mahidol army hospital
General Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi adjusts the straps on her helmet before take-off
A cycling and aviation enthusiast who spends much of his time abroad in Germany, Vajiralongkorn was crowned in May in an elaborate three-day ceremony that Sineenat participated in.
Vajiralongkorn, who has been married three times, spends much of his time with his wife and mistress at the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in the German resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Yet Queen Suthida reportedly spends most of her time at Hotel Waldegg in Engelberg, Switzerland, without her husband.
Major General Sineenat takes part in a parachuting drill (left) and with an assault rifle draped across her front with the king (right)
The king named Sineenat, a former nurse and his bodyguard, as former Royal Noble Consort on his birthday last month
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn pictured left looking impressed as former royal noble consort Sineenat goes through her paces. Pictured right is the King and his consort standing together in army fatigues
The King was educated at Millfield boarding school in Somerset and was described by his roommate the journalist Rupert Christiansen as a ‘vile bully’, according to the Times.
Harsh lese-majeste laws have shielded public scrutiny of his colourful private life, and all media in Thailand must self-censor.
But he is well known for his eccentricity.
Former royal noble consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani, also known as Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, at a firing range (left) and as part of the royal guard (right)
Dressed as a military paratrooper, the former royal noble consort is pictured in a variety of roles in the new photos
Major General Sineenat was also given four medals, such as ‘most noble order of the crown of Thailand’ and ‘most exalted order of the white elephant, special class’, as well as being lauded for her time as a senior officer in the King’s bodyguard team
Sineenat’s appointment was the first such appointment in almost a century, long before the end of absolute monarchy in 1932
In 2016, he was spotted wearing a tight, white crop top, his body adorned with temporary tattoos and holding a white fluffy poodle, while standing next to his then consort.
The social media images, which Thai police said were doctored, showed a man in low-slung jeans and sandals, with a huge sleeve tattoo holding a white fluffy poodle.