Thai author seeks to reopen probe into 1946 death of King Ananda

Kungwal Buddhivanid, 62, arrives before the hearing of his petition to revive the case of the death of King Ananda Mahidol or Rama VIII, at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court is holding hearings on a petition seeking to reopen one of the most controversial cases in the country's modern history, the death of King Ananda Mahidol who was found shot dead in his bedroom in 1946 at the age of 20.

King Ananda, also known as Rama VIII, reigned from 1935 to 1946, and was the uncle of the present Thai monarch Maha Vajiralongkorn and the elder brother of the last King Bhumibol Adulyadej.