Oct 24th 2019SINGAPOREINGRATITUDE, MISBEHAVIOUR and disloyalty. These were among the failings of Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi detailed in a royal statement on October 21st. Apparently the mistress of King Maha Vajiralongkorn wanted to “elevate herself to the same state as the queen”. The former army nurse also dared to issue commands and show disobedience to her superiors. She has been stripped of all titles and honours.At one level, Ms Sineenat’s sudden fall from grace is stunning. It was only on the king’s birthday in July that he made her Thailand’s first officially designated royal mistress in almost a century. At another level, it is typical: the king has frequent, dramatic romantic bust-ups, with dire consequences for the women concerned.Choose us for news analysis that respects your time and intelligenceSubscribe to The EconomistWe filter out the noise of the daily news cycle and analyse the trends that matterWe give you rigorous, deeply researched and fact-checked journalism. That’s why Americans named us their most trusted news source in 2017Available wherever you are—in print, digital and, uniquely, in audio, fully narrated by professional broadcastersThis website adheres to all nine of NewsGuard‘s standards of credibility and transparency.ORContinue reading this articleRegister with an email address