Thai princess apologises after illfated run for PM

A Thai princess has apologised after her short-lived candidacy for prime minister earned a royal rebuke from her brother -- the king -- and sent jitters across the politically febrile country just weeks before elections. Thailand has been mired in political drama since Friday, when Princess Ubolratana’s name was submitted as a prime ministerial candidate by the Thai Raksa Chart Party.

The party is allied with the powerful Shinawatra clan, which has won all elections since 2001 but whose patron, the billionaire ex-premier Thaksin, lives in self-exile to avoid jail. Ubolratana’s unprecedented bid to enter frontline politics unravelled within hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn decried the entry of a royal into the political fray as “highly inappropriate”. The princess was disqualified as a prime ministerial candidate by the Election Commission on Monday, which cited the royal command.

It is now discussing whether to refer Thai Raksa Chart to the consitutional court for dissolution. In an Instagram post late Tuesday the 67-year-old princess apologised for her role in the drama. “I’m sorry that my genuine intention to help work for the country and fellow Thai people has created a problem that shouldn’t happen in this era,” she wrote. It was tagged with a hashtag: “#howcomeitsthewayitis”.

Ubolratana is the firstborn of former king Bhumibol Adulyadej, but she gave up her royal titles when she married an American in 1972. After her divorce, she moved back to Thailand where she is regarded by the Thai public as a part of the royal family. While she said she was exercising her rights as a commoner to stand for premier, the palace statement said she is “still a member of the House of Chakri”, referring to the name of the dynasty.