BANGKOK (Reuters) -A criminal court in Thailand will on Friday deliver a verdict in a high-profile case of royal insult involving influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the first in a series of upcoming rulings involving the powerful Shinawatra dynasty.

Despite officially being retired, divisive billionaire Thaksin remains a major force in Thai politics and is accused of the serious offence of lese-majeste, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, over a 2015 media interview he gave during his long stint in self-imposed exile.

Thaksin denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly pledged allegiance to the king, who is enshrined in the Thai constitution as being in a position of “revered worship”, with the palace seen by royalists as sacrosanct.

The case stems from

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