Happy birthday to Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti Sirivibulyarajakumar, heir presumptive to the throne of Thailand, who is 15 years old today. 1/12 
Dipangkorn was born in Siriraj Hospital on April 29, 2005, to Vajiralongkorn’s third wife Princess Srirasmi, a former hostess at the nightspot Thonburi Cafe. He was conceived via IVF to prevent Vajiralongkorn passing HIV to his son. 2/12
The birth dramatically shifted royal succession dynamics in Thailand. Vajiralongkorn has four adult sons from his second marriage to Yuvathida “Mom Benz” Polpraserth, but they were banished from the kingdom and removed from the line of succession in 1996. 3/12
One key reason for this is that Vajiralongkorn’s mother Queen Sirikit was determined that her Kitiyakara bloodline would become the main Thai royal lineage. This was why she had pressured Vajiralongkorn to marry his first wife, his cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakara, in 1977. 4/12
Sirikit wanted her granddaughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha to be monarch after Vajiralongkorn, and this is why the constitution was changed to say that if there was no male heir, a female could be chosen. 5/12
Dipangkorn’s birth meant that Bajrakitiyabha was no longer next in line for the throne after Vajiralongkorn, and this caused significant tensions with Sirikit. 6/12
The young Prince has had a difficult and tragic life. He has never been seen speaking more than a few words in public and is widely believed to have autism or a similar condition. 7/12
In 2014, Vajiralongkorn divorced Srirasmi and jailed most of her close relatives, in a brutal purge. Since then, Srirasmi has lived in house arrest in Rachaburi, and has not seen Dipangkorn in person in years. 8/12
The young prince lives in a villa bought by Vajiralongkorn in Feldafing outside Munich, and attends a German school. Vajiralongkorn, who spends most of his time at the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl in the resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with his harem, sees his son rarely. 9/12
Because of his developmental disorder and the downfall of his mother, Dipangkorn’s status as heir to the throne is in doubt. However, there are signs that Vajiralongkorn wants his son to succeed him. Those close to him wear a badge with Dipangkorn’s image on it. 10/12
At present the most likely scenario is that Dipangkorn becomes the next monarch. After a severe stroke in 2012, the increasingly senile Sirikit no longer has the power to block this. But due to Dipangkorn’s developmental problems, Bajrakitiyabha is likely to be regent. 11/12
This could change. Vajiralongkorn is very fickle, and if one of his harem provides another son, the succession dynamics will shift again. Whatever happens, hopefully Dipangkorn will have a happier life than he has had so far. He's an innocent victim in this game of thrones 12/12
