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Thailand's Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Srirasmi to divorce

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Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn is set to divorce his wife Princess Srirasmi Akrapongpreecha. HELLO!'s sister publication HOLA! has confirmed that the couple have finalised their separation with the consent of the country's monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

"The king has granted permission to announce that Princess Srirasmi, the wife of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, has informed in a written document that she has resigned from her royal status," the palace said in a statement.

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Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Srirasmi Akrapongpreecha have been married since 2001

The split comes after news emerged that the princess's family were involved in a corruption case which has seen some of her relatives arrested. Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Srirasmi, who met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in May 2012 at a lunch held as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, have conducted fewer official engagements together in recent months.

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The royal couple with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2012

In April 2013, Prince Vajiralongkorn attended King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands' inauguartion with his sister, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

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Prince Vajiralongkorn and his sister Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn 

Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Srirasmi's union is the first-in-line to the throne's third marriage. In January 1977 he married Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara and they had a daughter, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, in 1978. The couple divorced 15 years later although the former princess and her daughter continue to take part in official ceremonies.

Vajiralongkorn then married aspiring actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, with who he has four sons and a daughter, in February 1994. On 10 February 2001 the prince tied the knot again, this time with Princess Srirasmi Akrapongpreecha and the royal couple later welcomed Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.