His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was born on July 28, 1952, in the Ambara Villa of the Royal Dusit Palace in Bangkok. He is the second of four children, and is the only son of Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great and Queen Sirikit.
The Crown Prince received his primary schooling at Udorn Hall of the Dusit Palace and attended secondary school in Sussex and Summerset, England. In August 1970, the Crown Prince attended the King’s School, Paramatta, Sydney, Australia and in 1976, he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Military Studies at the University of New South Wales. HRH the Crown Prince also attended the Royal Thai Army Command and General Staff College, graduating in 1978, and later received a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Sukhothai Thammatirat University in Bangkok in 1987. In 1990, he successfully attended the Royal College of Defense Studies in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej conferred his son with the title of “Somdech Phra Borama Orasadhiraj Chao Fah Maha Vajiralongkorn Sayam Makutrajakuman” on December 28, 1972, making him the Crown Prince and Heir to the throne.
HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn attended numerous military training courses in Australia and the United States, with observation tours in England, Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands. A long list of military courses attended by the Crown Prince includes helicopter and high performance aircraft flight training, special warfare training, demolition training, parachute training, and courses in small arms and other weapons used in modern warfare.
Some assignments include Commanding Officer of the King’s Own Bodyguard Regiment and Command; Commanding General of the Royalty Security Command; and Instructor Pilot of the F-5 E/F. Intermittently, he engaged in actions for counter-insurgency purposes in the North and Northeast areas of Thailand as well as for protective purposes in areas around Cambodian refugee camps at Khao Lant, Trat Province.
The Crown Prince has continued the Royal Family’s assistance programs to underdeveloped areas around the country and visited depressed urban areas around Bangkok distributing food and necessity items to people in need. Another impressive undertaking was his participation in a fertilizer preparation project in Suphanburi Province using natural ingredients to enrich the land in support of the country’s great agricultural pursuits. Farming is considered to be a highly significant and noble profession in Thailand and the Royal Family takes an active role in advancing the vital industry of agriculture.
In 2005, HRH Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn officially opened the splendid multi-million baht Royal Varuna Yacht Club, built on choice seaside property at Kasetsin Beach, South Pattaya. Before an assembled crowd of ministers, Royal Thai Navy officers, Palace and Pattaya City officials, and a large number of Royal Varuna members, including a number of past club commodores, HRH the Crown Prince activated the ceremonial curtain, revealing the Varuna logo, thus officially opening the club.
The Pattaya Mail Media Group humbly joins the Kingdom of Thailand in offering our best wishes to HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn on the occasion of His Royal Birthday Celebration, July 28.
