It was supposed to be a moment where a beloved King was going to address and give calm to a nation in turmoil. But instead Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej cancelled his birthday speech Thursday due to sickness. This devastated the country, which spent months in political turmoil. 
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn said that the monarch, who celebrates his 81st birthday Friday, was ill.
“Yesterday, His Majesty the King was eating fine,” the Princess said. “But today the King suffered from bronchitis.”
She said that the King was weak but that his condition was not serious.
Even his son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, told dignitaries gathered at the Dusit Palace to hear the king, the same thing. The comments were broadcast live on radio.
While the King is known to be unwell, he was not expected to miss such an important occasion. The news came as a shock in this Southeast Asian nation of 63 million people, who revere Bhumibol as a selfless humanitarian. Many people wear yellow, the King’s color, once a week as a mark of respect and affection for the revered monarch.
“It would have been a very difficult speech in a deeply polarized time,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.
“It is possible that His Majesty did not want to be used by one side or another, did not want to be seen as tipping the balance to one side or another,” he said. “In such a delicate environment, what he says could be misinterpreted.”
Meanwhile, Suvarnabhumi International Airport began returning to normal after the end of the weeklong occupation by thousands of antigovernment protesters.
The protesters, who call themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy, dispersed on Wednesday after the Constitutional Court disbanded the governing party, citing electoral fraud, and brought down the government.
But the party was set to reconstitute itself under a new name and was expected to form a new government, leaving the long-running confrontation with its opponents unresolved.
The king’s silence on Thursday was disconcerting to many Thais, who revere him as the nation’s soul and protector and its savior in times of trouble.
The king’s absence also renewed concerns about his fragile health. He has had two heart procedures and a spinal operation as well as an apparent stroke, and he appears frail in public.
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