Thailand's powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn late Friday described an unprecedented move to make his older sister Princess Ubolratana prime minister as "highly inappropriate" and against "royal traditions".

Ubolratana, 67, the older sister of Vajiralongkorn, was announced hours earlier as a candidate in the upcoming elections for the Thai Raksa Chart party, which is steered by the divisive Shinawatra political clan.

Her shock entrance into frontline Thai politics was a first by a member of the powerful royal family and promised to reshape the political landscape of the country.

But a late-night statement from the palace left no doubt over the King's displeasure at the move.

"The king and royal family exist in a status above politics," said the statement, published in the Royal Gazette and given blanket television coverage.

The statement did not criticise Ubolratana, instead praising her public work.

But it appeared aimed at those behind her sudden stride into politics.

"To bring a senior royal family member into the political system in any way is against royal traditions and the nation's culture... which is highly inappropriate."

While the monarchy, which is vastly wealthy and protected from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law, has been seen as above the political fray, royals have intervened in moments of political crisis.

In a day of high drama, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha also declared his candidacy for premier, running for the pro-military Phalang Pracharat party, moments after the princess's announcement.

Election authorities have a week to review which candidates put up by each party are allowed to run for premier after the March 24 poll.

- Political drama -

Ubolratana's candidacy had electrified the build-up to the election, which has long seemed poised to return the ruling junta and its proxies to power.

Her involvement gave a royal sheen to the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, the self-exiled billionaire whose parties have won every election since 2001.

The princess, who gave up her royal titles to marry a foreigner, took to Instagram earlier Friday to say she was allowed to run under the constitution as a "commoner" had "allowed Thai Raksa Chart Party to use" her name.

The party falls under the tutelage of Thaksin, who stands at the heart of Thailand's bitter political schism -- loathed by the army and Bangkok elite, yet adored by the rural poor for health, welfare and education schemes.

The announcement appeared set to thrust him back onto the centre stage of Thailand's political drama.

He was toppled in a 2006 coup, while his sister Yingluck was booted from power in a 2014 military takeover and forced into exile to avoid a jail term.

The King's intervention has cast Thaksin's future role in politics into doubt.

- Colourful royal -

Ubolratana, a colourful, public-facing royal in contrast to her more restrained brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn, relinquished her royal titles after marrying the American Peter Jensen in 1972.

But the couple divorced and she moved back to Thailand where she is still considered part of the royal family.

In Thailand, she experienced tragedy, losing her autistic son Poom to the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Known to the public for lead roles in Thai films, onstage singing performances, a vibrant fashion sense and a sizeable Instagram following, Ubolratana is the first-born child of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The stride into politics by a royal left Thais scrambling to work out what it may mean for the nation's tattered democracy.

"This is quite unprecedented and nobody is prepared for this," Professor Anusorn Unno of Thammasat University told AFP.

"I don't think it's the victory for the people, I think this is part of the adaptation of the ruling elite in terms of changing the landscape of politics."

Since ascending the throne in 2016, King Maha Vajiralongkorn has reorganised palace affairs.

The vastly wealthy Crown Property Bureau is now under his personal stewardship, he has appointed several new privy counsellors and established a highly trained personal guard.

Crucially he has appointed a new army chief from a different faction of the military to the ruling junta.

His coronation will be held in May.

Ubolratana: the pop-singing Thai princess now plunging into politics
Bangkok (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 - Marrying an American, singing pop songs on talent shows, roles in movies and posts on Instagram, Princess Ubolratana has long broken the mould of Thailand's royal family -- but her entry into politics is her boldest move yet.

The elder sister of Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn was only 21-years-old when she confirmed her status as the rebel of the family, an institution steeped in arcane tradition and fiercely shielded by a harsh lese majeste law.

In 1972 she renounced her royal titles to marry Peter Jensen, an American she had met while studying mathematics at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She lived a comparative commoner's existence in the United States, where she was known as Julie Jensen, for more than quarter of a century before their marriage broke down.

Ubolratana returned to her homeland where she was embraced by her family, treated as a senior royal once more and afforded the wealth and trappings of her re-acquired station.

The monarchy is considered sacred and above reproach in Thailand. Roads are routinely cleared for royal convoys and senior members attend events surrounded by courtiers and cloaked in strict palace protocols.

But while Ubolratana is afforded the same privileges, the 67-year-old princess has cultivated a more accessible image than her reserved younger brother and shown a knack for reading the sentiments of ordinary Thais.

When crowds gathered for days in huge numbers outside the Grand Palace following the death of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016, Ubolratana was the first senior royal to greet the mourners, distributing food and thanking well-wishers in footage that swiftly went viral.

In a institution that leans heavily on protocol and tradition, she has embraced pop culture and the spotlight.

Last year the princess played the role of popstar, performing onstage a song popularised by Thai girl group BNK48.

In 2008 she starred in a movie, "Where the Miracle Happens", which opened in Cannes, and played a journalist in her second film foray in an action-packed thriller featuring explosions, gunfights and car chases.

- Political leanings? -

Her frequent social media posts range from celebrating Chinese New Year and celebrating her favoured charity causes to addressing the everyday problems that Bangkokians face -- most recently the toxic smog that has been shrouding the city.

"This problem must be solved as soon as possible -- the kids cannot go to school anymore," she wrote under a post of her wearing a black pollution face mask.

"I'm trying to study what can be done because we all are going to get worse."

She also experienced first hand the tragedy of the huge 2004 Asian tsunami -- her autistic son Poom was one of more than 5,000 people killed by the waves in Thailand.

While Thailand's monarchy portrays itself as officially above the political fray, its senior members have in the past chosen to intervene during key moments of crisis.

Ubolratana had never shown an overt interest in politics, but there have been clues that her sympathies may have rested with the powerful Shinawatra dynasty -- who are beloved by Thailand's rural and urban poor but loathed by Bangkok's military and royalist elite.

Former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra both now live overseas after fleeing what they say are politically motivated charges following coups that toppled their governments.

Ubolratana was spotted with Shinawatras attending a World Cup football match last year.

And she also endorsed a tweet by Thaksin that slammed "tyranny" by quoting the French thinker Charles de Montesquieu.

Underneath she wrote "I agree, su su!" (fight, fight).

Her latest Instagram post on Thursday set tongues wagging as rumours swirled that she had agreed to stand as a prime ministerial candidate for a Thaksin-linked party at the upcoming general election in March.

In it Ubolratana was all smiles, holding a red flowers and wearing a traditional dress from northern Thailand.

In a country where people are adept at reading subtle political cues, the signal was clear: the Shinawatras' heartland is Thailand's north and their political colours are red.

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