Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, and is known for bring called Rama X.
His Majesty was born on July 1953, and that he is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit. At the age of 20, he was made the crown prince of Thailand, and that it was only after his father's death on October 13, 2016, that he was expected to take the throne.
His coronation happened in May 2019, and that Vajiralongkorn aged 64 at the time, became the oldest Thai monarch to ascend to the throne.
To the world, he is also the richest monarch, with a net worth of around $100 billion.
But to his people, there is something he wished the public would never knew.
And that is his lifestyle.
Shortly after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in November 2016, a report stated that Vajiralongkorn, the new King of Thailand, could be issued with an inheritance tax bill in excess of €3.5 billion.
According to the report, the new King is domiciled in Germany, where he owns two luxurious villas which makes him subject to local inheritance tax.
Before he ascended to the throne, on May 2017, officials of Thailand sent warning to Facebook after a 44-second video was posted of Vajiralongkorn walking through a shopping mall in a yellow crop top, with full view of his half sleeve tattoo.
The social media was urged to remove dozens of pages from its servers, in order to prevent the photos from spreading, especially among the citizens of Thailand.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said that the government had obtained a court order to block 34 of the pages and was still working on the others, and that Facebook had agreed to cooperate.
A Facebook spokesman confirmed this, and said that the Thailand’s Digital Ministry for Economic and Social Affairs had sent the company a court order saying the post violated the Computer Crime Act.
Later, the total number of pages Facebook had to remove, was 131, and if the social media failed to remove all of them, Thai media quoted the Thai Internet Service Provider Association as saying that it would be forced to prevent Facebook from being accessed by people in Thailand.
Officials also sent threats to shut down Facebook's office, which was only opened a year earlier.
That blocking and shut down did not occur, and the standoff was not receiving much attention on social media.
"We must thank Facebook for cooperating with us and complying with Thai law," Tantasith said.
There are plenty of other occasions, where Vajiralongkorn is seen with a crop top.
Another famous photo of His Majesty, would be the one where he is seen exiting his personal jet to get into a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class, walking on a red carpet, wearing a crop top
His Majesty also appears intoxicated.
Before this, in 1009, a home video was released to WikiLeaks, shows Vajiralongkorn casually dressed and Princess Srirasmi Suwadee wearing only a G-string.
At the time, they were attended to by several formally dressed servants, celebrating the lavish birthday party for Foo Foo, the prince's poodle, Foo Foo, who holds the rank of Air Marshal.
Princess Srirasmi, wife of Vajiralongkorn, a former waitress, was shot in a video, where she is seen wearing the skimpy outfit
King Bhumibol was widely beloved by the people in Thailand, who saw him as an advocate of the common people.
King Vajiralongkorn mostly continues his father's legacy while navigating the complex political landscape of Thailand. But by contrast to his father, Vajiralongkorn once maintained a lavish European lifestyle full of romantic intrigue, alcohol and gambling.
This prompted criticisms from its own people, which argued whether he is suited to fill his father's shows, and ascend the throne.
Regardless, the monarchs in Thailand are immune for such things, because of Thailand's extremely strict lèse-majesté laws, which make it illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the monarchy, including the King.
For many years, criticism of the king, queen, crown prince, and former kings, members of the royal family, and even their pets, have been strictly prohibited.
Because of this, photographs and other media that might be considered disrespectful or inappropriate should not be shared, because sharing or even possessing such material can lead to severe legal consequences.
In Thailand, violators may face up to 35 years in prison.
Due to his status, the public is only presented with an image of a king who never leaves the country and is always impeccably dressed.
On the web, especially in Thailand, the depictions of His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn not wearing his official dress are some of the most censored images.
