His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has appointed 10 members of the Privy Council in which three are newcomers, including two government ministers.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to make a cabinet reshuffle following the appointment of the privy councillors.
The royal command, dated Dec 6, was issued under Section 2 of the 2014 interim constitution, along with Sections 12, 13 and 16 of the 2007 constitution on the King which were retained and remain in effect.
The royal command was countersigned by Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council. It was published in the Royal Gazette yesterday.
Gen Prem was earlier reinstated as Privy Council president under a royal command by His Majesty the King on Friday after serving as regent pro tempore following the passing of the late King Bhumibol on Oct 13.
The three new members are: Education Minister Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan, Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Koomchaya and Gen Teerachai Nakwanich, who retired as army commander-in-chief on Sept 30.
The other seven were reappointed under the latest royal command. They were part of the 16-member Privy Council, including the council president, that served the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
They are Gen Surayud Chulanont, Kasem Watanachai, Palakorn Suwanrath, Atthaniti Disatha-amnarj, Supachai Poo-ngam, Chanchai Likhitjitta and ACM Chalit Pukbhasuk.
The eight others in the previous council retired from their positions following the fresh appointments.
The appointments will take immediate effect.
The 10 newly-appointed members of the Privy Council will today have an audience with the King to take an oath of allegiance.
Following their appointment as members of the Privy Council, Gen Dapong and Gen Paiboon yesterday submitted their resignations as cabinet members. Meanwhile, Gen Teerachai also resigned as member of the National Legislative Assembly and chairman of the board of the Provincial Waterworks Authority.
Under the constitution, Privy Council members cannot also be state officials, state enterprise officials or members of political parties, and they must not have any affiliation with any political party, according to the charter provision.
In light of this development, a cabinet reshuffle will be required to find replacements.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon yesterday said the appointments of Gen Dapong and Gen Paiboon as Privy Council members means they have gained the trust of His Majesty the King.
Gen Prawit also said there will be a cabinet reshuffle and Gen Prayut will provide further details.
Gen Paiboon and Gen Dapong yesterday met Gen Prayut at Government House to inform the prime minister that they were leaving their ministerial positions.
Gen Paiboon said he believed Justice Ministry officials will still be able to carry on with the ministry's tasks pending the appointment of the new justice minister.
It is up to the prime minister to decide who will succeed him as justice minister, he said.
He has been satisfied with his contributions at the Justice Ministry and added he had now handed over his tasks to the ministry's executives, particularly the case involving Phra Dhammajayo, the abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
Gen Paiboon said he believed his successor will also be capable of handling important tasks. Gen Paiboon also serves as head of a legal team of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday Gen Paiboon and Gen Dapong had resigned as members of the NCPO.
He said Gen Prayut would be the one to decide how many posts in the cabinet would be part of the reshuffle.
Sources at the Justice Ministry said likely candidates to succeed Gen Paiboon include former permanent secretary for justice Kittipong Kittiyarak and Mr Wissanu, who is a legal expert and serves as a legal adviser to the NCPO.
A source at the Education Ministry said that Deputy Education Minister Gen Surachet Chaiwong is expected to be promoted to education minister.