The 8th of February, 2019 turned out to be one of the biggest jaw-dropping days in modern Thai political history. What was supposed to be just another Friday kicked off with Princess Ubolratana, the eldest sister of HM King Mahavajiralongkorn, being nominated as the prime minister candidate of the Thai Raksa Chart Party for the 2019 general election in March—the first time in modern Thai history that a member of the royal family would be involved in local politics, usually a messy affair in the country.
According to Thailand’s new election act, every political party participating in the election must submit one to three candidates for the prime minister position. And a PM candidate does not need to be a party member.
On 8 Feb, the last day of the application, the Thai Raksa Chart Party, which is linked to ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, announced before the Election Committee that it has invited Ubolratana to represent the party as its only PM candidate. The 67-year-old royal is known to younger Thais as an active Instagrammer, a Thai tourism ambassador, and long-time anti-drug campaigner through her successful To Be Number One campaign. Among the older generation, she has a reputation as a talented academic who holds multiple degrees from acclaimed international colleges—mathematics and biochemistry from MIT and public health from UCLA.
According to the Thai constitution, the monarch and the royal family is placed “above” politics. But that might not be the case for the princess. Born Her Royal Highness as the first child of His Majesty, the former King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, Ubolratana gave up her royal titles in 1972 to marry Peter Ladd Jensen, a fellow student at MIT, with whom she has three children: Ploypailin, Poom (passed) and Sirikitiya (who's the driving force behind Wangna exhibition). She returned to Thailand in 2001 after her divorce and has been carrying on royal duties ever since. Ubolratana, however, never regained her royal titles. So technically, the de facto royal is a de jure commoner with full rights to participate in all political activities—if that’s her wish. At least, that’s what we all thought.
But, before the day ended, came the plot twist. His Majesty King Mahavijiralongkorn announced late at night on a televised statement that even though Ubolratana has relinquished her royal titles, she has maintained her status as a high-ranking member of the Chakri Dynasty and therefore, according to laws, customs and traditions, must not get involved with politics. The inclusion of high-ranking members of Thai royalty into politics is an extremely inappropriate act that His Majesty condemns.
The following morning, the princess posted on her personal Instagram account where she thanked all her supporters, and wished the Thai people opportunity and happiness. Most have taken it as an implication that Ubolratana has bowed out of the PM race.
There is no confirmed conclusion at the time of writing. But regardless of how it all ends, Princess Ubolratana has definitely made history.