Maha Vajiralongkorn the Thailand's king strips disloyal royal consort

Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn has stripped his royal consort of her rank and titles over "misbehaviour and disloyalty against the monarch". In May, the king named longtime companion Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya his queen when they were married a few days before his formal coronation.

Sineenat had breached a code of conduct for courtiers and was “disloyal to the king”, a two-page palace statement said. Sineenat’s appointment as consort followed the king’s marriage to the deputy head of his personal bodyguard, Suthida Tidjai, 41.

A few days later the palace released images of Sineenat in combat fatigues shooting weapons, flying a jet and preparing to parachute from an aircraft, as well as holding the king’s hand. It was an intimate and rare glimpse into the private life of Thailand’s powerful, ultra-wealthy and inscrutable monarch.

Sineenat failed to respect royal traditions by trying to make herself equivalent to the queen, according to the statement, which added that she also defied the royal couple.

It said she had "shown resistance and pressure in every manner to stop the appointment of the Queen" ahead of the coronation in May.

“Royal Noble Consort Sineenat is ungrateful and behaves in ways unbecoming of her title. She is also not content with the title bestowed upon her, doing everything to rise to the level of the queen,” the statement said.

The Thai monarchy is protected by a harsh defamation law, making open discussion on the institution for the public and media based inside the country all but impossible.

Sineenat, a qualified pilot and former army nurse, was the first woman to receive the consort title in nearly a century.

Vajiralongkorn became king in 2016 but the formal coronation was delayed until May this year.

He has had four wives - Princess Soamsawali from 1977 to 1993; Yuvadhida Polpraserth from 1994 to 1996; Srirasmi Suwadee between 2001 and 2014; and Queen Suthida.