Thai royal family ‘heir apparent’ could be refused throne over secret marriage to American woman

The favored heir to Thailand’s royal family may be kept from the throne due to his secret marriage to an American woman, according to a report.

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s long-estranged son, is reportedly the top choice to take over for his father, but his marriage to Elisa Garafano, a civil servant in White Plains, New York, complicates his ascension as Thai law prohibits a monarch’s marriage to a foreigner.

Vivacharawongse, who goes by “Vach,” has reportedly told friends that he is splitting up with Garafano, with whom he shares two children. A divorce would again open up the door for him to take the throne without a succession crisis, The Daily Beast reported.

While Garafano filed for divorce, which is under seal, sources told the outlet she has since suspended the proceedings, telling friends that the couple are not divorced and wants to be recognized as royalty with her children.

Vach, a 42-year-old attorney, has privately pledged his loyalty to his wife and children, with whom he lives in a Cape-style brick house in Mount Vernon, according to the Daily Beast.

A source confirmed to the outlet that Vach remains married to Garafano, but said “he very much wants to keep that fact, and the fact of their children, secret because of the impact it would have on his ambition to win the throne.”

The Post has reached out to Vivacharawongse for comment. Attempts to Garafano were not successful.

Vach is one of four sons King Maha Vajiralongkorn had with his second wife, Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, a former actress. In 1996 the then-crown prince divorced Vivacharawongse, who moved abroad with her children. Vajiralongkorn ascended to the throne in 2016 at the age of 64.

Their youngest daughter was taken back by the royal family and given the title Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana — but the four sons remain estranged and do not have any formal royal titles.

As the royal family’s urgency to find a proper successor grows, Vach has emerged as a leading candidate, returning to the country for the first time in 27 years last year.

However, news of Vach’s marriage has been widely left out of media reports in Thailand, where it is strictly illegal to criticize the monarchy.

A second source told the Daily Beast that “Vach and Elisa were openly married for years, but since he started competing for the throne he began trying to keep it hidden, and has told people he is now divorced, even in public comments on social media.”

Thailand’s law of succession states that descendants of the royal family “shall be excluded from the line of succession” if they are “married to a foreign consort.” 

Records reviewed by the outlet show divorce proceedings were filed in Westchester County but have since stalled. Vach has said he no longer resides at the Mount Vernon residence where he and Garafano have lived for nine years, but he answered the door when a Daily Beast reporter knocked.

Vach was considered to be largely out of the picture before Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the King’s eldest daughter from another marriage, collapsed in Dec. 2022 while walking her dog from what is believed to be a heart issue. 

She is now reportedly in an irreversible somatic coma, according to the Daily Beast — but the palace has not confirmed her condition.