Royal World Thailand has commented on a video clip believed to show Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya discussing the ongoing political situation in Thailand, saying that it is not actually the princess.

The Facebook Page ‘Royal World Thailand’, which disseminates news about royal institutions worldwide in both Thai and English, posted a message concerning a viral video clip believed to be Princess Ubolratana, the elder sister of King Vajiralongkorn.

The video clip mentioned support for Pita Limjaroenrat, PM candidate from the Move Forward Party, to become Thailand’s next prime minister, stating that he is from the first-ranked party. It also mentioned Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and unfair enforcement of Section 112 (the Royal defamation law), which allegedly causes damage to King Vajiralongkorn. The video clip is no longer accessible.

The video clip has been widely shared on social media platforms, especially among Pita’s supporters. At the same time, it has been discussed whether the voice in the video genuinely belongs to the Princess or not. Sceptics assume that it is someone else’s voice or created by artificial intelligence based on comparisons with past videos and TV programmes where the Princess had spoken.

Royal World Thailand contacted a member of staff from the Office of Princess Ubolratana in Nonthaburi Province and were told that the voice in the video clip is not the Princess. The voice does not match her typical speaking style. The staff added that the Princess has become more cautious than before. She primarily follows news and comments on posts on the Instagram platform. In addition, she rarely talks about politics with anyone, not even with those close to her, according to the member of staff.

Princess Ubolratana was previously the PM candidate for the dissolved Thai Raksa Chart Party in 2019. Her candidacy was quickly withdrawn after her brother, King Vajiralongkorn, issued statement opposing the nomination, as she is still considered a senior member of the monarchy despite giving up her royal title.

Meanwhile, on 21 July 2023, Anon Klinkaew, head of the People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy, and Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims, both ultra-royalist groups, submitted evidence to the Technology Crime Suppression Division asking them to identify and take legal action under the royal defamation law against those behind the video clip.

Anon said the video clip involves the dissemination of false and distorted information, leading the general public to misunderstand the royal defamation law, which, he claims, is a law protecting the royal institution, not a law used for political bullying.

Nopadol stated that their mission was to track down the owner of the voice clip that has been shared on TikTok before the second PM vote on 19 July 2023. After examining the video clip, they believed it might not be real. Thus, they submitted evidence to the police for an investigation. He added that he believed the video clip was politically motivated as it was released during the second PM vote.

Previously, Anon threatened to kill a 15-year-old monarchy reform advocate and has filed complaints against several monarchy reform advocates. Meanwhile, Nopadol has filed numerous royal defamation charges against many netizens and activists, including Parit Chiwarak, Anon Nampa, Panusaya Sithijirawattankul, and in the latest case, Warunee.