Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is to preside over a graduation ceremony at a Bangkok university this weekend, the first official duty he will fulfil since the royal funeral rites for his late father king Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The crown prince will preside over the university’s annual graduation ceremony scheduled for today and tomorrow, Thammasat University confirmed with DPA yesterday.
Granting university diplomas is one of the official duties for members of the Thai royal family.
During the late king Bhumibol’s reign, he often assigned the duty to his children, including the crown prince.
Thammasat University told DPA that the crown prince has been granting diplomas at the university for the past decade, as his public appearance and roles increased in recent years.
Right after Bhumibol’s death last month, Vajiralongkorn, 64, told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha that he needed time to grieve for his late father before ascending the throne.
Former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, 96, assumed the role of the regent in accordance with the country’s constitution.
The Royal Household Bureau has yet to announce the date of royal succession, which can proceed ahead of the coronation.
The crown prince’s coronation is expected to take place in one year’s time, after the cremation of the late king Bhumibol.
The crown prince flew back to the kingdom yesterday after a fortnight overseas, palace sources confirmed.
He left Thailand last month, some two weeks after his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej died ending a seven-decade reign.
His death has sparked mass displays of grief and left the politically-divided nation without a rare pillar of unity.
The prince, who has yet to attain his father’s widespread popularity, spends much of his time overseas, especially in southern Germany.
On Monday Vajiralongkorn is slated to attend an annual cultural event in Pattani, a Muslim-majority province in Thailand’s insurgent-torn far south, according to an official schedule seen by AFP.
The government has not provided a timeline for when he will formally ascend the throne.
But they have sought to tamp down any doubts over succession, suggesting that the crown prince will be named king in the near future.
Under Thai law, a successor is initially proclaimed king by parliament.
He is then coronated once the previous monarch is cremated, often months later.
A strict royal defamation law and layers of official opacity make it difficult to confirm facts about Thailand’s monarchy and all but impossible to openly debate its role.
All media based in Thailand must self-censor to avoid falling foul of the lese majeste law, which punishes criticism of the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison per infringement.
Thailand’s arch-royalist military government has ramped up use of the law, with a particular focus on online dissent, since coming to power in its 2014 coup.
Authorities and ultra-royalist vigilante groups have further stepped up enforcement since Bhumibol’s death.
An initial 30-day mourning period for King Bhumibol ends on November 14, although civil servants and many more will mourn for a year until Bhumibol is cremated.