Stevenson says Bhumibol’s mother Sangwan supported Sirindhorn being elevated to the status of crown princess in 1977 because: “She not the Crown Prince had the makings of the next monarch.” He repeats a rumour that Vajiralongkorn once fired a gun at Bhumibol. And in a surreal and totally inaccurate re-imagining of the 1991 coup and political unrest of 1992, Stevenson depicts the crown prince as one of the main villains, in cahoots with venal generals, while Bhumibol fights for democracy: