The King’s functions mentioned above are not different from those of the monarchs in Western constitutional monarchies. They are the functions of the sovereigns who are required by their constitutions and tradition to be politically neutral or above politics. These functions are, by and large, ceremonial in nature. Nonetheless, the socio-political situation in Thailand is quite different from those in the Western democracies and, as a result, the role play of the Thai monarch has not been limited to performing only ceremonial functions. The exercise of his moral authority has sometimes been necessary to help assure the stability and security of the nation. In Western constitutional monarchies, the governments are relatively stable, efficient and responsive to the needs of their people. There are few uprisings or demonstrations, but the governments are able to handle them effectively and hence the sovereigns are not under pressure to intervene. However, in Thailand there have been military coups, political violence, riots, uprisings and demonstrations which have often led to political instability. This creates a situation wherein the monarch must determine whether or not he should remain politically neutral. Nevertheless the King, since ascending to the throne in 1946, has been most effective in maintaining perceived political neutrality while, at the same time, making it known that he was very concerned with any political instability which might lead to violence and bloodshed. The role of the King in political crisis situations is not stipulated in the constitution. When the public expects the King to do something to bring the country out of a crisis, what should the King do? In fact, when a crisis breaks out, it is the government’s responsibility to resolve it, but the King may give advice if things get out of hand. Being above politics does not mean that the King cannot be concerned with political problems threatening the country’s stability. The King may exercise his moral authority and give advice to the government and political adversaries as to how to solve the nation’s problems, but he is always careful not to overstep his duties as stipulated in the constitution. In April 2006, when the protests against Thaksin’s government became stronger, and the government mobilized its supporters to counter the protests, there were calls by several groups for a royally appointed prime minister, but the King did not respond. It was understood that the constitution did not give him power to do so. In his address to newly appointed judges in April 2006, the King insisted that political problems must be resolved through constitutional means. Even when he intervened in 1973 and another 1992 to end bloodshed in Bangkok after clashes broke out between soldiers and anti government protesters, what he did was not unconstitutional. He gave advice to the parties concerned to end the conflicts peacefully. His words carried weight due to the moral authority he had acquired through his political neutrality, charisma and integrity. Criticisms sometimes occurred, especially in foreign media, as to military coups in Thailand arguing that they are illegitimate like the one on September 19, 2006. These critics argued that when the palace accepted them, it was against the principle of political neutrality and, thus, the coups were made legitimate. Let us look at the concept of political legitimacy. Every political system must have legitimacy to ensure political stability and to maintain its political integrity. Political legitimacy of a political system is related to the political culture of the people in that system. According to Lucian Pye, political culture “is a set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiment that give order and meaning to a political process and that provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system”. With that definition, one can see the relationship between the political culture and the political legitimacy. If the people’s political beliefs or ideology are consistent with the political processes and the scope of power and authority of the rulers, then the political leaders and process would have political legitimacy. Regarding the question of legitimacy of a military coup, in the case of Thailand, one has to look at the acceptance of the public. As long as there is not a large scale public protest, one can say that the military takeover is accepted and thus legitimate. Since 1932 there have been a number of successful coups and they were acceptable to the public if the coup leaders made sure that they would not be in power for long. Therefore, whether a military coup can be legitimate or not depends on the public acceptance not the King’s. In fact, the King, being above politics, cannot express his views on any coup. At any rate, there is now a sign of growing discontent on the part of the public against a military coup which would make a coup in the future very difficult to undertake and be deemed as legitimate.