A show of love, or a royal insult? Haircut bearing Thai king’s portrait divides fans on monarch’s 67th birthday https://t.co/FiignFHCiB— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) July 29, 2019
A show of love, or a royal insult? Haircut bearing Thai king’s portrait divides fans on monarch’s 67th birthday
- A man who got the king’s face shaved onto the back of his head has drawn praise from some for the show of love, but criticism from others, who view it as disrespectful
- Ultra-royalists in Thailand are known for extreme displays of devotion to the monarch, seen as a semidivine figure
Mitree Chitinunda gets a haircut to mark the Thai king’s 67th birthday. Photo: Reuters
Source: South China Morning Post
28 July, 2019
On one side of his head, it reads “Long Live”, on the other “The King”. And on the back is a painstakingly snipped portrait of Thailand’s
King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Devoted monarchist Mitree Mike Chitinunda decided to mark the king’s 67th birthday on Sunday with a haircut that has drawn praise from some royalists but criticism from others, who view it as disrespectful.
“Some people think I do it to show off, but that’s not true. I just do it to show my love for the king,” said Mitree, 47.
Ultra-royalists in
Thailand are known for extreme displays of devotion to the monarch, seen as a semidivine figure.
But in nearly three years on the throne, King Vajiralongkorn has not quite acquired the mass affection that his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, gained during seven decades of rule before his death in 2016.
Mitree, who sports a crimson beard, has had special haircuts before – including one of Thailand’s current prime minister and former junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The haircuts made him popular at the hospital where he works as a radiographer and that helps put patients at ease, he said.
The latest haircut was planned carefully with barber Vorajit Chantanon, who is also a strongly committed royalist and marked the king’s birthday by giving free haircuts.
Mitree sat with a portrait of the king in his hands for the barber to follow.
The haircut took more than three hours. To maintain the picture requires further snipping every few days.
Pictures of the haircut posted on Facebook drew a mixture of praise and condemnation.
“Some people have been pleased with it and said ‘Long Live the King’. Some people have said it’s not appropriate to have the king’s portrait there,” Vorajit said. “But we just want to express our loyalty.”
Special haircuts are a regular feature for Vorajit, but the Buddha and dragons are more usual subjects.
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