When Thailand recorded its first cases of coronavirus, the King was nowhere to be seen in his kingdom.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn greets supporters as he walks to participate in a candle lighting ceremony in remembrance of late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday anniversary at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand, 5 December 2020. Photo: NurPhoto
As cases spiked in April and May, King Vajiralongkorn - alongside an entourage of about 100 staff - was in a hotel in Germany's Bavarian Alps that was closed to the public.
This was yet another bad look for the sovereign who has long been criticised for the significant time he spends in Germany.
It is one of many factors that has fuelled youth-led protests against Thailand's ruling class in recent months, with demonstrators calling for broad social and political reforms.
Demands include constitutional changes, greater transparency over royal finances and power, and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former military general who rose to power after the country's 2014 coup.
The German Government has also been brought into the fray, with Thai protesters pressuring Berlin to investigate whether the King has broken German laws.
But since October, the King and his entourage have been back in Thailand, a move widely believed to be in response to the protests, and to shore up support among loyalists.
So how did King Vajiralongkorn's relationship with Germany start? And what's the view from inside Germany?
Why does the King spend so much time in Germany?
Nobody knows for certain.
He spent much of his early life in the UK for schooling and was eventually sent to Australia's Royal Military College, Duntroon, where he graduated with an arts degree as a corporal.
Afterwards, the Crown Prince developed a reputation for being a hedonistic jet-setter, a contrast to the genteel, hard-working style of his father.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a scholar in Thai foreign policy at Kyoto University, told the ABC much of what has been said about the King's German life, which he said began in 2007, resides in hearsay.
But he said that from the hearsay, three main themes continue to reappear: health, hedonism, and flight.
Dr Chachavalpongpun said one speculation was that King Vajiralongkorn needed to be in Germany due to health complications.
Another reason is thought to be related to his hedonistic reputation, he said, which could be shrouded in Germany because of perceptions of the country's "quieter" media landscape.
However, Dr Chachavalpongpun noted this hadn't happened in practice, given that he's been a figure of interest for the German tabloids.
Meanwhile, King Vajiralongkorn's desire to pilot aircraft has also been touted as a reason for German life, as Dr Chachavalpongpun said there were fewer impediments for him to fly.
Since becoming sovereign, the King has continued to spend large parts of the year in the region, usually at his lakeside villa in Tutzing - a town that has long been a playground for the rich, about an hour's drive south of Munich.
The King's 15-year-old son, Dipangkorn Rasmijoti - who is also Thailand's Crown Prince - also studies at a Bavarian international school.
The Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Thai king Maha Vajiralongkorn stays there several times a year with his entourage. Photo: AFP
Who runs Thailand when the King's in Germany?
King Vajiralongkorn.
When he assumed the throne in 2017, the King made sweeping constitutional changes that outlined what the Thai sovereign could and couldn't do.
This included throwing out an old provision related to the selection of a regent, which is a term that describes someone who rules on behalf of the sovereign in the event they're abroad or incapacitated.
Under Thailand's previous constitution, former King Bhumipol appointed regents whenever he and the Queen went on state visits, which was done in consultation with Thailand's Privy Council, which is a powerful body of the monarchy's advisors.
Then, regents were usually other members of the royal family, such as the Princess mother, or the president of the Privy Council.
But since King Vajiralongkorn's ascension to the throne, the power of the Privy Council has declined, while the King has made a concerted effort to raise the military's power instead.
Shortly after his coronation for example, the King took direct command of two infantry regiments based in Bangkok.
Paul Chambers, a South-East Asia specialist at the Centre of ASEAN Community Studies at Thailand's Naresuan University, told the ABC courting the military neutralises the threat of a military-led coup when King Vajiralongkorn is abroad.
"I think that this King is intent on ensuring that his loyalists come to fully dominate the army," Dr Chambers said.
He added the King is ultimately attempting to remove the power of both the Privy Council and the royal household, "so it comes down to him and the army".
Dr Chambers said this would cumulatively result in "relations between monarchy and the army becoming the fulcrum of power in Thailand".
For Dr Chachavalpongpun, this also is just another example of the King's profound centralisation of personal power, which could see him stay away from Thailand "as long as he wants".
"In other words, no matter where he is, he can rule Thailand through a remote control," Dr Chachavalpongpun said.
What has Berlin said about Vajiralongkorn's time in Germany?
Running Thailand from Bavaria has caused significant consternation among some German politicians in recent months.
While the King's activities in Germany have largely gone unremarked by the country's ruling class, there has been closer scrutiny on him due to the advocacy of the German Green Party.
In October, Green MP Frithjof Schmidt questioned why Berlin tolerated this "extremely unusual" behaviour of a foreign head of state conducting domestic affairs from German territory.
In reply, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told MPs that King Vajiralongkorn should not be ruling from his European home.
"We have made it clear that politics concerning Thailand should not be conducted from German soil," Mr Maas said.
"If there are guests in our country that conduct their state business from our soil we would always want to act to counteract that."
Here’s the full translation of the exchange between Frithjof Schmidt MP of the opposition @GrueneBundestag and German Foreign Min @HeikoMaas on the Thai King in Germany, the political situation in Thailand and what the German govt could do. (Translation by me) https://t.co/ermubeBiW9 pic.twitter.com/GimIpA5Vbz
— Saksith Saiyasombut (@SaksithCNA) October 8, 2020
This week in the German Parliament, Mr Maas was again asked about the King and confirmed that he did not need a visa to travel to and from Germany since becoming head of state.
Sevim Dagdelen, the opposition MP who asked the question, also suggested Berlin could declare the King as a persona non grata (an undesirable person).
According to Dr Chambers, what's unfolding is the recognition by Berlin that hosting King Vajiralongkorn may be hurting Germany's international image.
"There are [German] considerations about Thailand's demonstrators, as it may affect international opinion of Germany," Dr Chambers said.
"I think they have to be worried and they would most likely prefer him to move elsewhere."
Dr Chambers also suggested that Germany's hosting of the King would become problematic if he was found to have broken local laws, despite the fact that the King couldn't be charged as he holds diplomatic immunity as a head of state.
In November, the German Government issued a statement confirming that King Vajiralongkorn had not done anything illegal while living in the country, in response to a letter from protesters delivered to the German embassy in Bangkok.
The letter asked Germany to investigate protesters' allegations of King Vajiralongkorn's involvement in torture and disappearances of dissidents, as well to decide on whether he breached German laws.
#Thailand protesters spotted someone on the top of #German embassy compound and started chanting that they're being used by authorities. Also started reading statement they gave to #German embassy. #ม็อบ26ตุลา #ประชุมสภา #WhatsHappeningInThailand pic.twitter.com/YVhC701lzl
— May Wong (@MayWongCNA) October 26, 2020
Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a former Reuters Bangkok bureau chief who has been banned from Thailand since 2011 for breaching the country's strict lese-majeste laws, wrote on Twitter that it was "extraordinary" to see these issues being discussed openly.
"None of these issues could be discussed at all in Thailand just a few weeks ago, and it's extraordinary to see them being so openly raised by protesters in Bangkok and included in their open letter to the German authorities," Mr MacGregor Marshall wrote.
"It's hard to overstate how excruciatingly embarrassing all this is for Vajiralongkorn and the Thai regime.
"They have tried for years to cover up the damaging behaviour of the King, but now it is front-page news all over the world."
What happens from here?
In the view of Dr Chachavalpongpun, the protesters' method to influence the King's behaviour via German Government pressure may ultimately be a futile one.
"I don't think the [German] Government would want to go an extra mile," Dr Chachavalpongpun said.
"Because at the end of the day, this is about the bilateral relationship.
"Germany [needs to] think carefully about whether they want to declare war with Thailand's head of state."
- ABC
