FILE - In this May 22, 2006 file photo, Spain's King Juan Carlos arrives with his daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, for the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. Urdangarin is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. The last time Juan Carlos appeared in public in front of thousands of people, he was greeted by persistent heckling and whistling never before seen during his reign of nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen, File)
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FILE - In this May 22, 2006 file photo, Spain's King Juan Carlos arrives with his daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, for the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. Urdangarin is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. The last time Juan Carlos appeared in public in front of thousands of people, he was greeted by persistent heckling and whistling never before seen during his reign of nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen, File)
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FILE - In this June 11, 2006 file photo, Spanish Princess Christina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin watch the men's tennis final at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris. Urdangarin is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
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FILE - In this March 23, 2010 file photo, Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of Spain's King Juan Carlos, delivers a speech at the CTIA wireless show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Urdangarin, married to the king's second daughter, Princess Cristina, is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File)
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FILE - In this June 5, 2005 file photo, Spain's Duke of Palma, Inaki Urdangarin, celebrates the birth of his first daughter in Barcelona, Spain. Urdangarin, married to the king's second daughter, Princess Cristina, is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
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Activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, left, flashes v-sign before a court session at criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The court has sentenced the prominent labor rights activist and magazine editor to 10 years in prison for publishing a pair of articles prosecutors said defamed the country's monarchy. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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Activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk walks to a court room at criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The court has sentenced the prominent labor rights activist and magazine editor to 10 years in prison for publishing a pair of articles prosecutors said defamed the country's monarchy. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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Bookmakers are taking bets on the name of the royal baby, with Diana among the favourites.
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FILE - This is a Saturday March 10, 2012 file photo of Britain's Prince Harry, smiles after playing rugby at Flamengo's beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photographs of a naked Prince Harry in a Las Vegas hotel room have popped up online. A celebrity gossip site published two pictures of the 27-year-old royal cavorting with what they called a mystery woman in a VIP suite. Prince Harry's office confirmed Wednesday Aug. 22. 2012 that the photos were of the prince but declined to make any further comment. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
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FILE- Britain's Prince Harry watches track cycling during the 2012 Summer Olympics, in this file photo dated Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, in London. Nude photographs of Prince Harry in a Las Vegas, USA, hotel room are published on the Internet Wednesday Aug. 22, 2012, and now security experts are wondering whether the Scotland Yard officers who are assigned to keep the 27-year-old royal safe from harm, might have done a better job of keeping him out of trouble. The photos available on the Internet and not taken by Photographers' long lenses but are up close and personal. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Thai police investigate TV show about monarchy
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police said Thursday that they are investigating whether a television show featuring a rare debate on the role of
Thailand's monarchy violated strict laws against insulting the royal family.
A talk show on state-owned Thai Public Broadcast Service created an uproar last week by discussing the role of the monarchy under the constitution and the controversial lese majeste laws that protect it from criticism.
The five-episode series was an anomaly for Thailand, where the discussion of such a sensitive issue is rarely — if ever — aired on a non-cable, broadcast television station.
"The legal team has initially looked into the content and found some of the arguments (made by two of the guests) might have violated the law," national police spokesman Police Maj. Gen. Piya Uthayo told reporters, referring specifically to the last two episodes of the show, which featured a debate between outspoken historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul and sharp-tongued social critic and royalist Sulak Sivaraksa.
Piya said the Royal Thai Police set up a committee Thursday comprising nearly 50 investigators to determine whether the show's content was illegal. He said the issue is "significant, has an impact on national security and is at the center of the public's attention."
Police also advised the public against sharing the show's content on the Internet, saying to do so may also violate the country's Computer Crime Act, which punishes circulation of material online that threatens national security.
Piya said investigators would check whether the show's content violated any laws apart from lese majeste, which mandates three to 15 years in jail for "whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the regent."
International rights organizations have criticized Thailand's lese majeste laws, saying they're often used by politicians to silence rivals and undermine freedom of expression in the country.
The final episode of the series was scheduled to air last Friday, but was put on hold after a small group of royalist supporters went to the head office of the Thai Public Broadcast Service that day and demanded that it not be aired.
The station aired the final episode on Monday.
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