Vacharaesorn and Chakriwat Vivacharawongse, sons of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, greet members of the media at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport as they return to the United States after a surprise visit to the kingdom after living abroad for 27 years, Thailand, August 14, 2023. Photo by Reuters
The two sons of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn ended their first visit to Thailand in 27 years on Monday, without any comment on their surprise arrival from the palace.
Vacharaeson Vivacharawongse, 42, arrived in Thailand last week and visited a daycare center and took part in religious ceremonies at a temple in Bangkok.
Photos in local media over the weekend showed his younger brother, Chakriwat, had also arrived and they visited a hospital and paid their respects to their ancestors.
Their visits come at a difficult time for the royal family, with the monarch’s eldest daughter having been in a coma since December.
“It was a fast week. There were a lot of things we wanted to do and see in Thailand, but we didn’t have much time,” Vacharaeson told reporters on Monday before departing Suvarnabhumi’s main airport.
“We received love and warmth from everyone we met,” he said.
Vacharaesorn and Chakriwat are the second and third of four sons of King Vajiralongkorn’s second wife, Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, a former actress who was divorced by the then crown prince in 1996.
He, his mother, three brothers and one sister separated after the 1996 divorce, in which his mother was publicly accused of adultery, and they moved abroad.
Vacharaesorn’s younger sister was later re-embraced by the royal family and given the royal title of Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana.
