Bhumibol Adulyadej: "My Way"

The world's longest serving monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej "the great", has sat on the Thai throne for sixty years, while the well oiled information machine has been churning out endless propaganda about him: Bhumibol "the artist", Bhumibol "the IT king", Bhumibol "the musician", Bhumibol "the engineer", and so on....

Then, an American author by the name of Paul M Handley put a spanner in the works by publishing a book entitled "The King Never Smiles", and Bhumibol's international image suffered a huge dent. You see, in a country that has had 18 military coups, it's difficult to believe that king Bhumibol is "above politics".

And of course he's not. Think back to the Thai military coup of 2006. Who was it that publically endorsed the coup, and asked Thai people to obey the coup leaders? Answer: Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thank you Paul Handley and thank you stoplesemajeste