Thai pro-democracy demo heads for German embassy

Pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok marched to the German Embassy on Monday apparently to bring attention to the time King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends in that country.

Vajiralongkorn has for years spent significant time in Germany, but it only became an issue after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016.

Bhumibol was king for seven decades, and though he traveled extensively on state visits in the early years of his reign – including being welcomed with a ticker tape parade in New York City – he only left the country once after the 1960s and that was an overnight stay in neighboring Laos.

Vajiralongkorn's ability to spend time abroad has been made easier by changes his office sought and received to the current constitution that no longer require him to appoint a regent when away from the kingdom.

Germany's foreign minister, recently questioned in Parliament by a member of the Green Party, expressed concern over any political activities the king might be conducting on the country's soil.