Blogs, chat rooms and websites are buzzing with it; the item has been partially banned, and the interviewee and interviewer face prosecution for “insulting” the monarchy. So what has so upset Thailand about The Times’s interview with Thaksin Shinawatra , the deposed Prime Minister?

In the interview, Thaksin — who was deposed in a military coup subsequently approved by King Bhumibol — spoke warmly of the monarch. The former Prime Minister’s complaint that royal courtiers had plotted his overthrow had been made before.

“The King is the most respected person,” he said. “The monarchy is good for Thailand. Thailand needs a monarchy, but it should not be abused or played by the palace circles.” But Thaksin also spoke of his hopes for the King’s heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.

“After he becomes king, I’m confident . . . because he has observed His Majesty, his father, for many years.”

It appears that this reference to the eventual demise of King Bhumibol has upset Thai royalists. A commentary in the Bangkok Post, a national English-language newspaper, said: “Several people who have read the full transcript of Thaksin’s interview do not find any remarks offensive to the monarchy. But for many Thais, any public discussion about the succession is deemed offensive and inappropriate to the reigning monarch.” However, there is more to it than the pain of imagining the inevitable demise of a beloved monarch.

Like his father, the Crown Prince is protected by the lèse-majesté treason laws, which explains the tentativeness with which even the foreign media speak of Thai attitudes towards him. But, as Thaksin acknowledged with considerable understatement, Vajiralongkorn “may not be as popular as His Majesty the King”. A biography of King Bhumibol by Paul Handley, an American writer, which also touches on the taboo subject, is denied distribution in Thailand.

Giles Ungpakorn, a left-wing Thai academic who fled to Britain after facing a lèse-majesté prosecution, said: “The King will be dying soon and his son — to quote Paul Handley — is ‘hated and feared’. And I think Paul Handley is right.”

The fear is that, with Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn on the throne, the shaky unity would be tested, perhaps to breaking point.

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