Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn announced on Wednesday he had married his bodyguard, General Suthida Vajiralongkorn, and named her Queen Suthida.
The announcement, carried in the Royal Gazette, came just before the official coronation of the king, 66, on May 4-6.
Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016, after 70 years on the throne.
In 2014, Vajiralongkorn appointed Suthida Tidjai, a former flight attendant for Thai Airways, as a deputy commander of his bodyguard unit.
Some royal observers and foreign media have linked Suthida romantically with the king, but the palace had previously never acknowledged a relationship between them.
Reuters
