Vajiralongkorn

Maha Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince of Thailand (Thai: สมเด็จพระบรมโอรสาธิราช เจ้าฟ้ามหาวชิราลงกรณ สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร; RTGS: —Mahawachiralongkon—; Thai pronunciation: [má.hǎː wá.ʨʰí.rāː.lōŋ.kɔːn]; literally: "Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Son and Crown Prince of Siam") (born 28 July 1952) is the only son of Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, and Queen Sirikit. He is the current Crown Prince of Thailand and heir apparent to the throne.

In 1972, at the age of 20, the king gave him the title "Somdech Phra Boroma Orasadhiraj Chao Fah Maha Vajiralongkorn Sayam Makutrajakuman", making him the Crown Prince and heir apparent to the throne. He later graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. An officer in the Thai military, he trained with the Australian, British and United States armed services. He is a qualified military pilot and helicopter pilot. He took an active part in military operations against the Communist Party of Thailand during the 1970s.

Crown prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess.

Description

The term is now borne as a title mainly in Asia, Scandinavia, and the Middle East; but it may also be used generically to refer to the person or position of the heir apparent in other kingdoms. However, heirs apparent to non-imperial and non-royal monarchies (i.e., wherein the hereditary sovereign holds a title below that of king/queen, e.g., grand duke or prince), crown prince is not used as a title, although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent.

In Europe, where primogeniture governs succession to all monarchies except those of the Papacy and Andorra, the eldest son (Spain) or eldest child (Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) of the current monarch fills the role of crown prince or princess, depending upon whether females of the dynasty enjoy personal succession rights. The eldest living child of a monarch is sometimes not the heir apparent or crown prince, because that position can be held by a descendant of a deceased older child who, by "right of representation", inherits the same place in the line of succession that would be held by the ancestor if he or she were still living (e.g., Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland, was Crown Prince of Sweden from 1950 to 1973, as the senior grandson by male primogeniture of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, although the former Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland, was Gustaf VI Adolf's eldest living son, and Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, his eldest living dynastic son during those years).

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; rtgs: Phumiphon Adunyadet; pronounced [pʰūː.mí.pʰōn ʔà.dūn.já.dèːt]; see full title below; born 5 December 1927) is the King of Thailand. He is also known as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history, serving for 7009219872880000000♠69 years, 246 days.

In 1957, the military overthrew the government with allegations of lèse majesté, which is offence against the dignity of the monarch, punishable under Thai law, starting a new and long-lasting relationship between the monarch and military in governmental matters. Although Bhumibol did invite public criticism in a 2005 speech, the lèse majesté laws have not been revoked by the Thai parliament.

Forbes estimated Bhumibol's fortune—including property and investments managed by the Crown Property Bureau (CPB), a unique body that is neither private nor government-owned, to be US$30 billion in 2010, and he was the head of the magazine's list of the "world's richest royals" from 2008 to 2013. In May 2014, Bhumibol's wealth was once again listed as US$30 billion. Officially the assets managed by the CPB are owned by the crown as an institution, not Bhumibol Adulyadej as an individual.

Maha

Maha may refer to:

Thailand

Coordinates: 15°24′N 101°18′E / 15.4°N 101.3°E / 15.4; 101.3

Thailand (/ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/ TY-lənd;Thai: ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, rtgs: Ratcha-anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰá.ʔāː.nāː.tɕàk tʰāj]), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; rtgs: Sayam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is governed by the National Council for Peace and Order that took power in the May 2014 coup d'état.Its monarchy is headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946 as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He is currently the world's longest-serving head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch; he has reigned for 7009219907440000000♠69 years, 250 days.