It surprises no one that a royal couple inaugurates first-class sports facilities. Even more unusual is that it is the queen herself who goes out onto the rink to play the exhibition match, nothing less than ice hockey.
Without hesitation, Suthida from Thailand put on her jersey, helmet and skates last Friday in Chiang Mai, along with a group of players from the national team. The queen consort exuded good humor and style when skating and, in the stands, she enjoyed the encounter with an equally wide smile as the king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose official title is Rama X.
Although ice hockey is an aggressive sport everywhere and even more so in the country of kick boxing, the video of the match shows that the queen suffered not too strict marking. Something that allowed her to, if not score, at least give some assists.
Suthida, 45, is the fourth wife of the king of Thailand, with whom she has no children. Her official biography, after her wedding, evokes her professional experience as a flight attendant at JAL and Thai Airways. The couple married in 2019, a few days before the enthronement of Rama X. This occurred no less than three years after the death of his father, King Bhumibol or Rama IX, due to the unpopularity of the crown prince.
It must be said that ice hockey enjoys a strange prestige in subtropical Thailand. In the capital, Bangkok, a dozen ice skating rinks have emerged, most on one floor or another of a shopping center, with electricity bills that have become legendary. The late Rama IX, who reigned for a whopping 66 years, apparently learned the sport during his years in Switzerland. Although his son Rama X prefers cycling, he also appreciates the low temperatures and spends long periods in the German Alps.
Images of Rama X and Suthida Tidjai, as queen consort, adorn everything from official buildings to the altar of temples throughout Thailand. Suthida, however, is not alone. Branch
It should be added that, over the last few years, hundreds of people have gone to jail in Thailand, accused of offending or criticizing the king, the royal family or the royal office, which manages a fabulous real estate estate in Bangkok. Not even the current king's in-laws, parents of his previous wife and grandparents of his youngest offspring, were saved.
Other male children - from the second wife - were banished decades ago to the United States. While the daughter of the first wife - the only one from a noble family - has been hospitalized in extreme seriousness for almost a year. For all these reasons, the succession of Rama X - 71 years old - just as happened with that of Rama IX, promises to be poisoned again.
Likewise, in the last elections, in May, a party that proposed a relaxation of the lese majeste law came in first position. However, the military junta, with the help of the senate it controls, preferred to hand over power - after nine years - to a coalition government between the parties that are close to it and the second most voted force. Despite the fact that he had carried out the coup d'état precisely to remove Puea Thai from power, the party to which the new Prime Minister Srettha belongs and which continues to be dominated by the tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, his sister and his daughter. In any case, the debate on the monarchy is no longer taboo in Thailand, definitely among young people and even among the good society of Bangkok, which was its stronghold.
(Below, images of Queen Suthida during the match, giving an assist to the goal)
