BANGKOK
Thailand’s 87-year-old king and his wife have left a Bangkok hospital where they spent much of the last few years to return to their seaside palace for “a change of atmosphere,” local media reported.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej – the longest reigning monarch in the world – and Queen Sirikit, 83, traveled in a black van Sunday alongside their second daughter princess Sirindhorn. They waved at the hundreds of well-wishers clad in yellow – the monarch’s symbolic color – who lined the streets shouting “long live the King!”
The royal couple will “rest and recuperate in an area with fresh air,” the Royal Household said in a statement released Saturday.
The king appeared frail but aware of the situation whereas the queen -- who appeared publicly for the first time in a year -- looked distant and distraught.
Bhumibol had been confined to Siriraj Hospital extensively since 2009, and remained there after having his gall bladder removed last October. His wife has been hospitalized since 2012 and suffered a stroke that July.
The Royal Household has ceased providing detailed information on Sirikit’s condition, only saying in a bulletin published earlier this month that she was “in good health.”
The King had made a brief public appearance Tuesday during a Coronation Day ceremony at the Grand Palace in a rare outing by the revered monarch.
The choice of the Hua Hin Palace – located 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Bangkok with its name meaning “far from worries” -- came as a surprise. A release earlier this month had said that the monarchs wished to stay at their Bangkok Chitrlada palace -- just a short distance from the hospital.
Anxiety over the succession of King Bhumibol, which could happen with his death or if he were to abdicate in favor of his only son, has been mounting recently amid his declining health.
Bhumibol is seen as key to the stability of Thailand, where he holds a revered, quasi-religious status.
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, 63, whose third wife relinquished her title last year, is next in line to the throne but is far less popular than his father, who is viewed as a unifying figure.
