Inside the Luxury German Hotel Where Thailand's King Is Self-Isolating

Publish date: 2024-05-17

King Maha Vajiralongkorn has reportedly rented out a four-star hotel in the Bavarian Alps for himself and his entourage of 20 women. The remainder of Germany's hotels have closed to tourists to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and Thailand declared a month-long state of emergency on March 26.

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn attends the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony in Bangkok, May 2019. Reuters

Source: The Local, The Times of London, Bloomberg

Thailand's "lèse majesté" laws protect King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other members of his family from bad press, but this didn't stop Twitter users from tweeting "Why do we need a king?" in Thai over 1.2 million times following reports that the king had fled Thailand for Bavaria.

—Sopha (@IsaanSopha) March 23, 2020

Source: The Times of London, Reuters, Washington Post

While press about the royal family is restricted in Thailand, the king made headlines in October when he stripped his royal consort, a longtime girlfriend, of all titles after she allegedly disobeyed and tried to make herself equal to his wife, the queen.

Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, the former royal consort of Maha Vajiralongkorn, flies a plane in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters, August 27, 2019. Royal Household Bureau/Reuters

Source: Insider, Channel News Asia

Maha Vajiralongkorn is a known womanizer. He has been married four times and has fathered seven children by three women. He is also avid cyclist and gave his pet poodle a four-day Buddhist funeral in 2015. It is unclear whether his wife is with him in Germany.

Three days before his coronation, Maha Vajiralongkorn married his fourth wife, Suthida, who was his a longtime partner and personal bodyguard, in a surprise ceremony on May 1, 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. Associated Press

Source: Insider, Think Progress, The Times of London, Vox

The Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl where the king and his female entourage are reportedly staying is located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, about an hour south of Munich. Maha Vajiralongkorn is believed to own a lake house on nearby Lake Starnberg.

Google Maps

Source: The Times of London

According to German news publication Bild, the hotel received "special permission" from local authorities to remain open for the king and his party.

The king of Thailand has reportedly rented out the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in Bavaria, Germany. © Leuchtende Hotelfotografie/Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl