All four once-exiled sons of the king of Thailand have been allowed to return to their home country for the first time in nearly 30 years – a development expected to be closely watched as the rich 72-year-old monarch is yet to officially endorse an heir.

Two of the princes had previously travelled to the country, but images on social media of the arrival on Friday of the eldest and youngest sons from the king’s doomed second marriage marks a new twist in a fascinating but secretive succession drama.

Its outcome will shape the fate of a multibillion-dollar property and business empire, a country of 70 million people and a beloved tourist destination that has often been ruptured by political upheaval and violence.

Three of the Thai king’s four sons in Bangkok on Friday. Vatchrawee (left) and Juthavachara (right) have not been seen in Thailand since the 1990s, while Vacharaesorn (centre) returned in 2023.Credit: Facebook

When Maha Vajiralongkorn, now King Rama X, was a crown prince, he divorced his second wife and cut his four eldest sons out of his life.

In 1997, he wrote to the boys’ English boarding schools, saying the teens had decided to live with their mother and despite his “natural fatherly inclination to secure their future happiness” he would “suspend all contacts with the children for any purpose whatsoever”. He would not be paying their tuition and even name-dropped Queen Elizabeth II as a source of support.

The boys had their diplomatic passports snipped, were turned into refugees and were granted asylum in the US by the Clinton administration.

Suddenly, they are back in the picture. Two princes had previously returned, testing the waters; one has a job in Bangkok while the other is establishing himself as a public figure. On Friday, the other two joined one of their brothers in walking through Suvarnabhumi airport and into the Bangkok sunshine.

Brothers (from left) Vatchrawee, Vacharaesorn and Juthavachara Vivacharawongse, are back in Thailand. They were exiled in the 1990s.Credit: Facebook

Their first stop, according to social media, was a temple to pay tribute to their ancestors in the Chakri dynasty. They later ate noodles.

© The Sydney Morning Herald