King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand is reportedly staying in a four-star hotel in the Bavarian Alps while most of Germany's hotels remain closed to tourists during the coronavirus outbreak.

The hotel received special permission from local authorities to open for the king and his entourage of 20 women, The Times of London reported.

Following reports that the king had fled to Bavaria, a Thai hashtag translating to "Why do we need a king?" accrued over 1.2 million tweets, according to the Times.

Little is known about the royal family, but tensions came to light in October when the king abruptly stripped his royal consort — and long-term girlfriend — of all her titles, accusing her of plotting against his wife, the queen.

Maha Vajiralongkorn has also been photographed cycling in a crop top in Switzerland and Germany, has a reputation as a womanizer, and reportedly gave his dog a four-day funeral.

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Thailand's royal family, compared to the constantly spotlighted British monarchy, is extremely secretive. The country has strict laws that forbid citizens and the Thai press from insulting and reporting on embarrassing details about the family.

That didn't stop residents of Thailand from tweeting "Why do we need a king?" over one million times last week following reports that King Maha Vajiralongkorn had fled, along with an entourage of 20 women, to a four-star hotel in the Bavarian Alps during the coronavirus outbreak.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, officially known as King Rama X, was crowned in May 2019, almost three years after the death of the previous king, his father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thanks to restrictions to the Thai press, relatively little is known about Maha Vajiralongkorn.

What we do know, however, is that he was educated in Britain and Australia, is an enthusiastic cyclist and pilot, and has been married four times. In October, the palace announced that his royal consort — and longterm girlfriend — had been plotting against the queen.

Scroll down to find out more about Thailand's secretive, bicycle-loving king.