Former princess would be first member of royal family to try to run for office

The king of Thailand has denounced his sister after she announced an unprecedented bid to become prime minister.

A run by Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, who renounced her royal title and privileges when she married an American in the 1970s, would pose an unexpected challenge to the military junta that has ruled Thailand since a coup nearly five years ago.

Ubolratana announced on Thursday she would represent a party associated with the exiled telecoms tycoon and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in a move so bold that analysts said it must have been approved by her brother King Vajiralongkorn.

But hours later the king made a televised statement suggesting he had been caught by surprise. “Involvement of a high-ranking member of the royal family in politics, in whatever way, is an act that conflicts with the country’s traditions, customs and culture and therefore is considered extremely inappropriate,” he said.

The king’s opposition to the move is likely to lead to Ubolratana’s disqualification by the election commission.

Ubolratana said she was simply exercising her rights as a citizen, but registration papers that listed her legal residence as Boromphiman Throne Hall and the Grand Palace underline just how exceptional her prospective candidacy is.

The monarchy is one of Thailand’s most revered and respected institutions. Although she is technically no longer a princess, Ubolratana, 67, would be the first member of the royal family to attempt to run for public office.

Until Friday the frontrunner in the long-awaited elections was Prayut Chan-o-cha, the leader of the 2014 coup and head of the ruling military junta, who said he was running to maintain peace and order. After repeatedly delaying elections and tightening controls on opposition parties, he had been widely expected to return as prime minister.

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Ubolratana’s unconventional foray into politics comes after decades of defying expectations. The eldest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016 after a 70-year reign, she gave up her official royal title when she married Peter Ladd Jensen, a US citizen and fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, in 1972.

After having three children, they divorced and she later moved back to Thailand where she began a second life as an unusually accessible royal, posting regularly on Instagram. In addition to acting and singing, she carries out charity work, including leading an anti-drugs campaign.

“I have relinquished my royal titles and lived as a commoner,” she said in an Instagram post announcing her decision to run. She was not present when the party submitted papers registering her as a candidate.

“I have accepted the Thai Raksa Chart party nomination for prime minister to show my rights and freedom without any privileges above other fellow Thai citizens under the constitution,” she wrote.

Thai Raksa Chart was created by Thaksin’s main Pheu Thai party, originally intended as a possible proxy after the military junta threatened to dissolve Pheu Thai.

Ubolratana has openly maintained ties with Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and has led the party from abroad after fleeing into exile. The two were seen together at the football World Cup in Moscow last summer.

King Vajiralongkorn will be formally crowned later this year. He trained at Duntroon military college in Australia and holds several military titles, as well as a pilot’s licence. For decades, however, he showed little interest in the public duties expected of one of the world’s most revered monarchies.