His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha to Be Invited to Ascend the Throne (29/11/2016)

The President of the National Legislative Assembly, Mr. Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, will invite His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Successor, to ascend the throne as King Rama X.

Mr. Pornpetch called a special session of the National Legislative Assembly on 29 November 2016 to acknowledge the Cabinet ruling on the same day, when Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha sent an urgent letter to the President of the National Legislative Assembly.

In this letter, the Prime Minister stated that, following the announcements of the Bureau of the Royal Household and the Prime Ministers Office, His Majesty King passed away on 13 October 2016. The throne has been vacant and the process of ascension to the throne must be carried out in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of .

The Government has postponed the process on its part to respect the wishes of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who stated that he wanted to join the Thai people in mourning the passing of the late King until a period had passed for the royal funeral ceremony.

The royal merit-making ceremony marking 50 days since the passing of the late King is scheduled for 1 December 2016, and about one million people have been provided with the opportunity to pay their respects to the late King in front of the royal urn since 29 October 2016. The Government informed His Royal Highness that it was appropriate now to proceed in accordance with royal traditions and the Constitution, which would boost the morale of the people and give them encouragement and happiness.

The process of ascension to the throne is in accordance with the Palace Law on Succession B.E. 2467 (1924), the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim) B.E. 2557 (2014), Section 2, paragraph two, and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2550 (2007), Section 23, paragraph one.

According to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, in the case where the throne becomes vacant and the King has already appointed the Royal Successor, in accordance with the 1924 Palace Law on Succession, the Council of Ministers shall notify the President of the National Assembly. Then the President of the National Assembly shall call a meeting of the National Assembly for acknowledgement. The President of the National Assembly shall invite the Royal Successor to ascend the throne and issue an announcement to inform the general public accordingly.

The Cabinet sent this letter to inform the National Legislative Assembly, which performs its duty as the National Assembly, that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was appointed Royal Successor on 28 December 1972 in accordance with the Palace Law on Succession.

In this regard, the Prime Minister asked the President of the National Legislative Assembly to take further action regarding the process of ascension to the throne.

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