<p class="title">Thailand's Queen Suthida, the former deputy head of the royal bodyguard, made her first official public appearance on Thursday at the side of Rama X, just days before his coronation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The palace announced late Wednesday that King Maha Vajiralongkorn had married his long-time consort, Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and made her his Queen.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Thursday she was seen kneeling alongside the king as they paid their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's historic quarter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible, and the kingdom's normally bubbly social media was subdued in reaction to the news of the nuptials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She is widely reported to have been a Thai Airways flight attendant before joining the king's retinue, but little biographical information has been released by the palace.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Suthida has shadowed the king at public events as part of his personal security retinue for some time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She was given the rank of "general" in 2016, and in June 2017 appointed deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In April she was seen seated stonefaced behind him wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed to police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The unexpected news of the marriage has heightened curiosity around this weekend's coronation of the 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, who as a result of the blasphemy laws also remains a mysterious figure to many Thais.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Photos of Suthida prostrating in respect to her husband at their wedding ceremony at Dusit Palace were widely used on newspaper front pages Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vajiralongkorn wore a white uniform and Queen Suthida a pink Thai traditional dress.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vajiralongkorn, who has been married three times, is frequently abroad in Germany and closely shields details of his private life.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The last coronation in 1950 was for Vajiralongkorn's father, the deeply revered Bhumibol Adulyadej.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has released a detailed schedule of the three-day coronation which starts on Saturday, but it remains unclear what role Queen Suthida will play.</p>
<p class="title">Thailand's Queen Suthida, the former deputy head of the royal bodyguard, made her first official public appearance on Thursday at the side of Rama X, just days before his coronation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The palace announced late Wednesday that King Maha Vajiralongkorn had married his long-time consort, Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and made her his Queen.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Thursday she was seen kneeling alongside the king as they paid their respects to statues of previous Chakri dynasty monarchs in Bangkok's historic quarter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Harsh lese-majeste laws mean unguarded discussion about the monarchy inside Thailand is virtually impossible, and the kingdom's normally bubbly social media was subdued in reaction to the news of the nuptials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She is widely reported to have been a Thai Airways flight attendant before joining the king's retinue, but little biographical information has been released by the palace.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Suthida has shadowed the king at public events as part of his personal security retinue for some time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She was given the rank of "general" in 2016, and in June 2017 appointed deputy commander of the king's Royal Guard.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In April she was seen seated stonefaced behind him wearing a white uniform with a black tie and epaulettes as he addressed to police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The unexpected news of the marriage has heightened curiosity around this weekend's coronation of the 66-year-old Vajiralongkorn, who as a result of the blasphemy laws also remains a mysterious figure to many Thais.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Photos of Suthida prostrating in respect to her husband at their wedding ceremony at Dusit Palace were widely used on newspaper front pages Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vajiralongkorn wore a white uniform and Queen Suthida a pink Thai traditional dress.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Vajiralongkorn, who has been married three times, is frequently abroad in Germany and closely shields details of his private life.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The last coronation in 1950 was for Vajiralongkorn's father, the deeply revered Bhumibol Adulyadej.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has released a detailed schedule of the three-day coronation which starts on Saturday, but it remains unclear what role Queen Suthida will play.</p>