The king of Thailand has gone into self-isolation during the coronavirus outbreak with 20 women at a grand hotel in southern Germany, according to media reports.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as Rama X, is reported to have booked out all of the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in Bavaria to self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to German tabloid Bild, the 67-year-old king booked out all of the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in Bavaria after getting the special permission from local officials.
The king intended on having more of his party at the hotel, however, 119 members of the royal entourage are thought to have been sent back to Thailand amid concerns they might have contracted Covid-19.
Hotels in the region were ordered to close due to the coronavirus crisis, but a spokesperson for the local district council said the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl was an exception because “the guests are a single, homogenous group of people with no fluctuation”.
Reacting to the report of Vajiralongkorn’s apparent self-isolation in a luxury location, thousands of Thai people risked breaking country’s law in a social media protest against the king.
Under the archaic laws, anyone who insults or criticises the monarchy faces up to 15 years behind bars.
But a hashtag which translated to ‘Why do we need a king?’ appeared 1.2 million times on Twitter within 24 hours of news breaking he was in Germany, reports The Times.
