COVID-19: Thailand’s King, His 20 Concubines, Quarantined

By Akinwale Kasali

At this time that the world is contending with, and collectively looking for a vaccine for the deadly pandemic, Covid-19, and preaching social distancing, Thailand Monarch is not ready to compromise his pleasure.

The 67-year-old  King Maha Vajiralongkorn, described by many as a ‘playboy king’ has reportedly taken over a luxury German hotel to isolate from the coronavirus with harem  – 20 women –  aside from his servants.

The Independent German media reports  that the king booked the entire Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl with “special permission” to break the lockdown in the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The basic meaning of isolation is to separate oneself or someone from others. That is WHO’s protocol to contain the spread of the rampaging Coronavirus.  But Vajiralongkorn thinks otherwise.

The Independent further cited German tabloid Bild as reporting that the king, widely known as Rama X, chose to redefine isolation to give himself a preferential treatment.

He moved in with 20 concubines, along with a team of servants.

He was even going with a bigger entourage but 119 members were reportedly forced to return to Thailand in case any of them had already contracted the deadly virus.

Suthida Tidjai, his trusted Ally was, also, with him.

Responding to the outrage among Thais who resorted to social media to express their disappointment in their king, a spokesperson for the local district council said the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl was given special permission to host the king and his entourage because “the guests are a single, homogenous group of people with no fluctuation”.

Reports say Vajiralongkorn has not made a public appearance in his country since February, even as the country has recorded more than 1,500 coronavirus cases and nine deaths as at Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

He took over from his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 after spending 70 years on the throne.