The 67-year-old is said to have booked out the entire Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen after obtaining “special permission” from local officials, according to The Independent. Other hotels in the region have been ordered to close during the coronavirus outbreak.
But it’s not clear if Vajiralongkorn’s four official wives are among the group of women, the newspaper added, citing German tabloid Bild. A local official told Bild that the king’s entourage was approved for their stay at the four-star property because “the guests are a single, homogenous group of people with no fluctuation.”
However, 119 people who had been traveling with the king in Germany – where he reportedly owns a second home – were already sent home to Thailand over suspicions of contracting the coronavirus, according to The Independent. Back home, Thai residents appear to be unamused by the king’s European exploits.
A hashtag translating to “Why do we need a king?” has been attached to more than a million posts on Twitter, The Independent reports. As of Tuesday, Thailand has 1,651 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 10 deaths. Germany – where the king is choosing to weather the outbreak for now – has 67,051, Johns Hopkins University says.
