⁍ Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s praise for a man who held up a royal portrait at a protest site in Bangkok has drawn controversy in Thailand.

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⁍ The king has not made any public comment on more than three months of protests, which have increasingly targeted the monarchy as well as the government.

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⁍ The Royal Palace made no comment, as it has not since the start of anti-government protests in July that have increasingly targeted the monarchy as well.

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– Anti-government protesters in Thailand have been staging demonstrations for three months now, and they’ve made it clear they’re not happy with the country’s monarchy, which they accuse of being a tool of the military junta that seized power last year. Now King Maha Vajiralongkorn has made his first public comment since the protests began, and it’s causing a bit of a stir, reports Reuters. In video from Friday night, the king is heard praising a man who held up a royal portrait while others were protesting outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. “Very brave, very brave, very good, thank you,’ the king said. “Their majesties recognized me. This is the highest point of my life,’ wrote the man, identified as monarchist Thitiwat Tanagaroon, on his Facebook page. The king’s comments drew a big response. “Just seeing this picture, we are very touched,” royalist leader Warong Dechgitvigrom posted. “This is the Thai way and Thai society of caring, supporting, and protecting. Today it’s considered that his institution has adapted to be very close to the people. That made the greatest impression.’ But also among the top trending hashtags on Twitter in Thailand, tweeted well over 500,000 times, was #23OctEyesOpened—used by protesters and their supporters saying the Palace had now made its position clear. Under Thailand’s constitution, the monarchy is “enthroned in a position of revered worship,” but in principle doesn’t engage in politics.