Bhumibol Adulyadej

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) comes in a close third place

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades.

Just days before his official coronation, Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on May 1married the deputy head of his personal guard force and gave her the title Queen Suthida.

Thailand has a new king, with the country's crown prince formally taking the throne to succeed his much-revered late father, who reigned for 70 years.

Thais on Oct. 11 wore pink for 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a color they believe will help improve the monarch's health, two days after the palace said he was in an unstable condition. 

A Thai faces prison after being charged with lese majesty for insulting the king's dog, his lawyer said on Dec. 15, in an escalation of the already draconian royal defamation law.

Thanakorn Siripaiboon, 27, has been charged by police with lese majesty for a "satirical" Facebook post about the king and his dog, lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told AFP.

Thailand's army-dominated national assembly approved amendments to the country's draft constitution at a third reading on June 18, paving the way for a referendum on the newly drafted charter next year. 

Among the proposals in the charter is a clause that allows for an unelected prime minister and for the upper house Senate to be largely appointed. 

Thailand's junta-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military's hold on power.
      
Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.