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Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand -

Vajiralongkorn is the King of Thailand. As the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, he is also styled as Rama X.

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Maha Vajiralongkorn -

Maha Vajiralongkorn was born on July 28, 1952, the only son and the second of the four children of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He is pictured (left) in 1953 with Queen Sirikit and Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya.

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Thai Royal Family -

King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit with their children, Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, and Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was made crown prince by his father in 1972.

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Early life and education -

Vajiralongkorn with his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1961. Vajiralongkorn began his education in 1956 at Dusit Palace, a compound of royal residences in Bangkok.

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School in England -

Vajiralongkorn arriving in London in January 1966. He had been sent to England to attend independent schools, first at a preparatory school, King's Mead in Sussex, and later Millfield School in Somerset, where he completed his secondary education in July 1970.

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Family photo call -

King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit pictured in July 1966 with their children at King's Beeches, their private residence in Sunninghill, Berkshire.

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Proud parents -

The King and Queen of Thailand pictured on the eve of their son Vajiralongkorn's 15th birthday at their private residence in Sunninghill, Berkshire.

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Celebrity status -

King Bhumibol Adulyadej being interviewed by the British press after inviting the media to his private residence. Behind him, his wife Queen Sirikit and their children mingle with journalists.

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Military education in Australia -

Queen Sirikit (right) and her son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, leave Sydney in Australia for Bangkok in December, 1975. Vajiralongkorn had enrolled at military college in Canberra in 1972, and graduated in 1976.

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The man who would be king -

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn with his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. As the ninth monarch of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, the king was also titled Rama IX.

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High flyer -

After graduation, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn joined the Royal Thai Army, where he served as an officer and worked for much of his adult life. He is a qualified pilot on both military and civilian aircraft. He's pictured climbing out of the cockpit of a Northrop F-5E Tiger II jet fighter.

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Birthday wishes -

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, and Queen Sirikit receive respects from attending dignitaries after appearing at a balcony of Anantasamakom Throne Hall on December 5, 1999, to mark the king's 72nd birthday.

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Soldier and diplomat -

The crown prince's military duties included representing Thailand in the international political sphere. He's seen here with US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz during a visit to the Pentagon on June 12, 2003.

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Socialite -

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn with his third wife, Srirasmi Suwadee, and their son, Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, at a 2007 fashion show in Paris. Pictured with them is Alain Hivelin, of French fashion house Balmain, and politician Christine Lagarde.

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Moving in royal circles -

Royalty from around the world including Charles, Prince of Wales, Brunei's Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn (seen here with Princess Sirindhorn), and Prince Albert II of Monaco attend the inauguration ceremony for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in Amsterdam on April 30, 2013.

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Cycling by -

A keen cyclist, here he is seen riding a bicycle with tens of thousands of cyclists during the Bike For Dad mass cycle event to celebrate his father's 88th birthday.

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Death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej -

Thai citizens and nurses from a hospital light candles in Thai script showing numbers representing the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at a park in Bangkok on November 30, 2016, after the monarch's death the previous month.

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Period of mourning -

The new King Vajiralongkorn, still in mourning, is escorted after paying respects to the monument of King Rama I, the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now Thailand), after signing the military-backed constitution in Bangkok on April 6, 2017.

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Funeral procession -

King Bhumibol Adulyadej's cremation took place on October 26, 2017, a little over a year after he died. Pictured is King Maha Vajiralongkorn taking part in the funeral procession in Bangkok for his father.

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A new king -

A portrait of the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn in front of the Dusit Palace during the morning alms ceremony at Royal Plaza in Bangkok.

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Face value -

A bank teller shows a new 100 Thai baht banknote bearing an image of the new Thai king on April 6, 2018.

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Like father, like son -

Thai people hold portraits of King Rama X and his father, the late King Rama IX, in a Labor Day parade on May 1, 2019 in Bangkok.

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Fourth wife -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn legally married his long-term consort, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya, on May 1, 2019 in Bangkok. Bestowed with the title Queen Suthida, she became his fourth wife. The marriage raised eyebrows, but under Thailand's strict lèse-majesté laws, which forbid people to insult, defame, or threaten any member of the royal family, the king is shielded from malicious rumor and gossip.

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Royal duties -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his wife, Suthida Vajiralongkorn, during a ceremony before his coronation at the Royal Palace in Bangkok on May 3, 2019.

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Purification -

The new king is seen on May 4, 2019 during the royal purification at Bangkok's Grand Palace, which takes place as part of the coronation ceremony.

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The king's coronation -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn is carried in a golden palanquin during the coronation procession on May 5, 2019. The coronation only took place three years after King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death because the new monarch wanted the country to mourn his father first.

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Grand parade -

Crowds line Bangkok's streets and avenues for the extravagant May 5 coronation procession. A spectacular event, some 1,300 people and elephants paraded near Thailand's Grand Palace for six-and-a-half hours.

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Thai tradition -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn lighting a candle in a ceremony in Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, during his coronation procession in Bangkok.

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New wave -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Queen Suthida, and his daughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (one of seven children he has fathered) wave to well-wishers from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall of the Grand Palace on May 6, as they grant a public audience on the final day of his royal coronation.

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Official engagement -

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, accompanied by Queen Suthida and Princess Bajrakitiyabha, stands to salute while inspecting military troops during a parade marking the Royal Thai Armed Forces Day at Adisorn Military Camp in Saraburi province on January 18, 2020.

See also: Bangkok, a city eclectic contrast

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