Enemies of King of Thailand's mistress send 1,400 sexually-explicit nude pictures of her to anti-monarchy activists after she returned from prison to rejoin billionaire royal's harem
Enemies of the King of Thailand's mistress have sent sexually-explicit nude pictures of her to anti-monarchy activists.
More than 1,000 photographs taken between 2012 and 2014 of Maha Vajiralongkorn's mistress, Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi - many of them nude - have been distributed.
It comes after she returned from prison after being jailed last year to rejoin the billionaire royal's harem.
She was given back her royal and military titles after she was previously accused of seeking to undermine the monarch's official wife, the country's queen.
The photographs - which are thought to have been taken by Ms Sineenat herself - were sent to Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a British journalist, who has written critical articles about the Thai monarchy, reports The Times.
More than 1,000 photographs taken between 2012 and 2014 of Maha Vajiralongkorn's mistress, Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi - many of them nude - have been distributed. The couple are pictured together last year
Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun also received the pictures. He is currently living in Japan and facing criminal prosecution in Thailand after criticising the monarchy there.
Mr Marshall wrote on his Facebook page: 'Most of the images are photographs she took of herself, and dozens of them are very explicit.
'It seems probable that she had taken these explicit photographs of herself to send to Vajiralongkorn... and that the images of Koi (Ms Sineenat's nickname) were leaked in an effort to sabotage her return as Vajiralongkorn's consort.'
Ms Sineenat, also known as Koi Wongvajirapakdi, was gifted the title of royal consort to mark the king's 67th birthday last July.
It was the first time in nearly a century that a Thai monarch had taken a consort, after the king married his fourth wife Queen Suthida earlier in 2019.
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn (right) and Queen Suthida during their wedding ceremony in Bangkok. According to tradition, the King has a semi-divine status and must be seated higher than those around him
Both Queen Suthida, 42, and Sineenat, 35, have served as senior officers in palace security units. Suthida was previously a flight attendant with Thai Airways, while Sineenat was an army nurse.
The 68-year-old king has seven children by three previous marriages, all of which ended in divorce.
Last October, less than three months after making Sineenat his royal consort, the king issued a command rescinding the appointment.
In a statement, he accused her of misbehaving by actively seeking to block Suthida's appointment as queen in order to take the position herself, and saying that when she failed to block Suthida, her 'ambitions and aspirations' led her to continue to seek ways to promote herself.
Then in August the Royal Gazette reported reported that Sineenat was not tainted by any wrongdoing, and the record should not show that she ever lost her privileges.
Sineenat's fall had been particularly stunning because only two months earlier, a palace website released scores of photos of her and the king, some in formal settings and others in markedly casual poses, such as taking part in flying, shooting and skydiving.
Ms Sineenat, (pictured) also known as Koi Wongvajirapakdi, was gifted the title of royal consort to mark the king's 67th birthday last July. Sineenat had trained as a pilot in Thailand and abroad, served in the King's royal bodyguard unit, and in 2019 was awarded the rank of a major-general
Others showed her and the king holding hands, unusually intimate photos for members of the royal family.
For the last few months Thailand has seen an unprecedented number of demonstrations demanding reform of the monarchy.
Ms Sineenat has been seen as a helpful figure for the King to regain popularity recently and often meets royalist supporters alone.
She has been praised for her beauty, youth and cheerful good manners.
Mr Pavin said: 'She's being used as a PR tool to project a good image, and the image of a happy family.
'It says, 'There may be three of us, but we each know our role.' But there's clearly conflict within the walls of the palace between the two ladies.'
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