Category Archives: Thai Royals

The Mysterious Death of Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand (1946)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

On June 9, 1946, 20-year-old King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand was found shot to death in his bedroom in the Boromphiman Throne Hall, a residential palace located in the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok, Thailand. He died from a single gunshot wound to the forehead.

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand in 1946; Credit – Wikipedia

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand was born on September 20, 1925, in Heidelberg, Germany where his parents were studying at Heidelberg University. He was the second of the three children and the elder of the two sons of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej and Princess Srinagarindra. His younger brother succeeded him as King Bhumibol Adulyadej and reigned until his death in 2016. Prince Mahidol Adulyadej was the son of King Chulalongkorn and Sri Savarindira, a consort and half-sister of King Chulalongkorn. King Chulalongkorn had 92 consorts during his lifetime and had 77 surviving children.

On September 24, 1929, King Ananda Mahidol’s father Prince Mahidol Adulyadej died of kidney failure at the age of 37. In 1935, King Prajadhipok of Thailand, one of Ananda Mahidol’s many uncles, abdicated due to political issues and health problems. He decided not to name a successor to the throne. Instead, the Cabinet, with the approval of the National Assembly, used the 1924 Palace Law of Succession and named nine-year-old Ananda Mahidol as King of Thailand. Because the new king was a child and attending school in Switzerland, three regents were appointed to take over the duties of the young king.

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand in 1938; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1938, accompanied by his mother and his siblings, Ananda Mahidol returned to Thailand for the first time as its king. He spent two months in Thailand and then returned to Switzerland to resume his studies.

In December 1941, during World War II, Japan occupied Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol was studying in Switzerland and he remained there until the end of World War II. He returned to Thailand in December 1945 after receiving a law degree from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. King Ananda Mahidol had plans to return to the University of Lausanne to obtain a Ph.D. in law four days after his death. After obtaining his Ph.D, he planned to return permanently to Thailand and have his coronation.

On June 9, 1946, 20-year-old King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand was found shot to death in his bedroom in the Boromphiman Throne Hall, a residential palace located in the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok, Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol was cremated at Sanam Luang, an open public square in Bangkok, Thailand on March 29, 1950, four years after his death.

King Ananda Mahidol’s ashes are enshrined in the base of the Buddha; Credit – www.findagave.com

What caused the death of King Ananda Mahidol?

King Ananda Mahidol and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma on January 19, 1946, in Bangkok, Thailand; Credit – Wikipedia

Besides knowing the pathological cause of King Ananda Mahidol’s death, why he died has never been definitively answered. It was noted at the time of his death that Ananda Mahidol did not want to be king and felt his reign would not last long. In January 1946, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the British commander in Southeast Asia, visited King Ananda Mahidol in Bangkok, Thailand. Lord Mountbatten described the young king as “a frightened, short-sighted boy, his sloping shoulders and thin chest behung with gorgeous diamond-studded decorations, altogether a pathetic and lonely figure.” After attending a public function with King Ananda Mahidol, Lord Mountbatten observed, “His nervousness increased to such an alarming extent, that I came very close to support him in case he passed out”. Lord Mountbatten’s anecdote questions the state of mind of King Ananda Mahidol.

What happened on the morning of June 9, 1946?

The Boromphiman Throne Hall in the Grand Palace complex. King King Ananda Mahidol’s bedroom was on the upper floor; Credit – Wikipeda

A sequence of events for the morning of June 9, 1946, was devised by Dr. Keith Simpson, pathologist to the British Home Office and founding chairman of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London, after a forensic analysis of King Ananda Mahidol death. Dr. Simpson included this information in Chapter 13 – The Violent Death of King Ananda of Siam, in his book Forty Years of Murder: An Autobiography.

6:00: King Ananda Mahidol was awakened by his mother in his bedroom located on the second floor of the Boromphiman Throne Hall in the Grand Palace.
7:30: The king’s page Butsat Patthamasarin, came on duty and began preparing a breakfast table on a balcony adjoining the king’s dressing room.
8:30: Butsat Patthamasarin saw the king standing in his dressing room. He brought the king his customary glass of orange juice a few minutes later. However, by then the king had gone back to bed and refused the juice.
8:45: The king’s other page Chit Singhaseni appeared, saying he had been called to measure the king’s medals and decorations on behalf of a jeweler who was making a case for them.
9:00: Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej visited his brother King Ananda Mahidol. He said afterward that he had found the king dozing in his bed.
9:20: A single shot rang out from the king’s bedroom. Chit Singhaseni ran in and then ran out along the corridor to the apartment of the king’s mother, crying “The king’s shot himself!” The king’s mother followed Chit Singhaseni into the king’s bedroom and found the king lying face up in bed, bloodied from a wound to the head.

Aftermath

The three men arrested tried, found guilty, and executed for the supposed assassination of King Ananda Mahidol: left tp right: Chit Singhaseni, Bustat Patmasarin and Chaliao Pathumros; Credit – Wikipedia

An initial radio announcement on June 9, 1946, reported that King Ananda Mahidol was accidentally killed while holding his pistol. In October 1946, a Commission of Inquiry reported that King Ananda Mahidol’s death could not have been accidental but that neither suicide nor murder had been satisfactorily proven.

King Ananda Mahidol’s secretary Chaliao Pathumros and his pages Chit Singhaseni and Butsat Patmasarin were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder the king. After a very long trial, the court ruled that King Ananda Mahidol had been assassinated but that there was no proof that any of the three had killed the king. However, Chit Singhaseni was found guilty of being a party to the murder.

Chit Singhaseni appealed his conviction and the prosecution appealed the acquittal of Chaliao Pathumros and Butsat Patmasarin. After fifteen months of deliberation, the Appeals Court dismissed Chit Singhaseni’s appeal and also found Butsat Patmasarin guilty. They then both appealed to the Supreme Court which deliberated for ten months before upholding both convictions and also finding Chaliao Pathumro guilty. The three men’s petitions for clemency were rejected by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. They were executed by firing squad on February 17, 1955. King Ananda Mahidol’s brother and successor, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, later said that he did not believe the three men were guilty.

What Could Have Happened?

Various people have suggested what could have happened.

Dr. Keith Simpson, the forensic pathologist who investigated King Ananda Mahidol’s death, found it highly unlikely that the death was due to suicide. In Chapter 13 – The Violent Death of King Ananda of Siam, in his book Forty Years of Murder: An Autobiography, Dr. Simpson noted:

The gun was found next to the king’s left hand, but he was right-handed.
The direction of the bullet fired was not inward towards the center of the head.
The wound over the left eye was not a contact discharge, a gunshot wound incurred while the gun was in direct contact with the body at the moment of discharge
The king was killed while lying flat on his back. Simpson noted that in twenty years’ experience, he had never known of any suicide shooting while lying flat on the back.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej was certain that his brother’s death had been accidental. After the court ruled that the death was proven not an accident, He noted in English: “The investigation provided the fact that he died with a bullet wound in his forehead. It was proved that it was not an accident and not a suicide. One doesn’t know. … But what happened is very mysterious, because immediately much of the evidence was just shifted. And because it was political, so everyone was political, even the police were political, [it was] not very clear. I only know [that] when I arrived he was dead. Many people wanted to advance not theories but facts to clear up the affair. They were suppressed. And they were suppressed by influential people in this country and in international politics.”

Seni Pramoj and the Democrat Party spread rumors that former Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong was behind the death. A United States State Department memo said: “Within forty-eight hours after the death of the late King, two relatives of Seni Pramoj, first his nephew and later his wife, came to the Legation and stated categorically their conviction that the King had been assassinated at the instigation of the Prime Minister.” (Pridi Phanomyong)

Sulak Sivaraksa, a more recent prominent conservative and monarchist, wrote in 2015 that former Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong was protecting “a wrongdoing royal, and prevented an arrest of a person who destroyed the evidence…in truth, the murderer of the king is not Pridi Banomyong. That person is still alive.”

Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong met with American Chargé d’affaires Charles Yost who made the following report to the US State Department: “Pridi spoke very frankly about the whole situation and ascribed the King’s death to an accident, but it was obvious that the possibility of suicide was at the back of his mind. Pridi was violently angry at the accusations of foul play leveled against himself and most bitter in the manner in which he alleged that the Royal Family and the Opposition, particularly Seni Pramoj and Phra Sudhiat, had prejudiced the King and especially the Princess Mother against him.”

Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram, after overthrowing Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong in a coup, told United States Ambassador Edwin Stanton that he “personally doubted whether Pridi was directly involved for two reasons: “firstly, … Pridi is a very clever politician and secondly, … he has a ‘kind heart’. Plaek Pibulsonggram “did not think that Pridi would cause anybody to be murdered. However, Plaek Pibulsonggram said that it was possible Pridi had covered up or destroyed some of the evidence to protect the successor King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

William Stevenson, author and journalist, gave an account of the death in his book The Revolutionary King, written with the cooperation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The account says those executed were innocent and suggests that King Ananda Mahidol was murdered by Tsuji Masanobu, a former Japanese intelligence officer who had been active in Thailand during the war and was hiding out in Thailand for fear of being prosecuted for his war crimes.

Rayne Kruger, journalist and author, who had access to members of the inner circle of the Thai royal family, says in his book The Devil’s Discus that King Ananda Mahidol died by suicide, perhaps an accidental suicide. Kruger writes about a Swiss girl Marylene Ferrari as a love interest of King Ananda Mahidol. Kruger suggests that King Ananda Mahidol might have died by suicide because he knew marrying Marylene would be impossible. He further surmised that the death of King Ananda Mahidol was exploited for a political vendetta, and King Ananda Mahidol’s secretary Chaliao Pathumros and his pages Chit Singhaseni and Butsat Patmasarin were charged, tried, and executed to maintain the façade.

Paul Handley, the author of an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, The King Never Smiles, wrote that either suicide or an accidental shooting by Prince Bhumibol was responsible for King Ananda Mahidol’s death. He says, “I have no idea whether Ananda shot himself or was killed by Bhumibol, the two possibilities most accepted among historians. If the latter, I clearly term it an accident that occurred in play”.

Marylene Ferrari; Credit – Desperately seeking Marylene

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Associate Professor at Kyoto University‘s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and the author of Love and Death of King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand, published in 2021, writes about the Swiss girl Marylene Ferrari who was mentioned as a love interest of King Ananda Mahidol in Rayne Kruger’s book The Devil’s Discus. Intrigued about Marylene Ferrari, Chachavalpongpun sought to find more information.

King Ananda Mahidol and Marylene Ferrari met in 1943 at the law school at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. The two became romantically involved despite the Thai royal family discouraging the relationship. Their relationship shaped King Ananda Mahidol’s perception of marriage and his duties as king of a very traditional Thailand. Thinking back on what Lord Mountbatten said about King Ananda Mahidol – that he did not want to be king and felt his reign would not last long – his relationship with Marylene could have been a cause. As King of Thailand, Ananda Mahidol was supposedly free to make decisions about his marriage but in reality, this was not true. Marylene’s father was an influential figure in the religious circles of Lausanne, Switzerland, and was not enthusiastic about the prospect of his daughter becoming the queen of Thailand because of the inferior status of women in Thailand. The clash of the two diverse views of gender equality and the treatment of women in Thai society further deepened the difficulties in the relationship between Ananda and Marylene. Chachavalpongpun suggests that King Ananda Mahidol, having fallen deeply in love with Marylene, decided to die by suicide because of their starcrossed love.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

Ananda Mahidol. (2021). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol
Chachavalpongpun, Pavin. (2012). Desperately Seeking Marylene. New Mandala. https://www.newmandala.org/desperately-seeking-marylene/
Flantzer, Susan. (2019). King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-ananda-mahidol-of-thailand/
Strangio, Sebastian. (2022). Pavin Chachavalpongpun on the Strange Death of King Ananda Mahidol. Thediplomat.com. https://thediplomat.com/2022/01/pavin-chachavalpongpun-on-the-strange-death-of-king-ananda-mahidol/

Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand; Credit – By NBT – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p8BI_BJSkFs, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113127049

Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand is the only daughter and the youngest of the five children of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, as she is now known, a consort and then the second of the king’s four wives. Princess Sirivannavari was born Chao Busyanambejra Mahidol on January 8, 1987, in Bangkok, Thailand. At the time of her birth and the birth of her siblings, her father was Crown Prince of Thailand and was married to his first cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakaram known as Princess Soamsawali. Sirivannavari’s mother was her father’s unmarried consort. Using the stage name Yuwathida Suraswadee, Sirivannavari’s mother became an actress in 1977 when she was fifteen years old, starring in television dramas and movies. She was introduced to the then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and became the Crown Prince’s consort. In August 1979, Sujarinee announced her retirement from acting.

Sirivannavari (front row in the middle) with her father, the future King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, her mother Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, and her four elder brothers; Credit – https://thaipoliticalprisoners.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/prince-and-family.jpg

Sirivannavari has four elder brothers:

Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (born 1981)
Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)

Princess Sirivannavari (on the left), with her half-sister Princess Bajrakitiyabha (on the right) and her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn (in the middle), 2019; Credit – By NBT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKLRF8wE_nI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88430260

Sirivannavari has an elder half-sister from her father’s first of four marriages to his first cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakaram known as Princess Soamsawali:

Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand (born 1978)

Sirivannavari has a younger half-brother from her father’s third of four marriages to Srirasm Suwadi, formerly Princess Srirasm of Thailand:

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand (born 2005)

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn’s first wife Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, the Crown Prince sued for divorce in the family court. He accused Princess Soamsawali of being completely at fault for the failed marriage. She was not able to refute any of the charges because of lèse-majesté in Thailand. It is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent of Thailand. The penalty for committing lèse-majesté is three to fifteen years in prison for each count. The divorce was finalized in July 1993.

In February 1994, Sirivannavari’s parents were married. The Crown Prince’s father King Bhumibol Adulyadej and paternal grandmother Princess Srinagarindra attended the wedding but his mother Queen Sirikit, who was also the aunt of his first wife Princess Soamsawali, did not attend. After the wedding, the bride’s name was changed to Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhya, signifying she was a commoner married to a royal. Sujarinee was commissioned as a major in the Royal Thai Army and took part in royal ceremonies with Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.

In 1996, Sujarinee fled to the United Kingdom with her five children. The Crown Prince accused her of adultery and managed to retrieve his daughter Sirivannavari and bring her back to Thailand. Sujarinee and her four sons were stripped of their royal titles and her marriage to the Crown Prince was dissolved. After the end of her marriage, Sujarinee and her sons used the royal surname Vivacharawongse and lived in the United States.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Sirivannavari’s paternal grandfather, gave her the name Sirivannavari and the style and title Her Royal Highness Princess of Thailand. She was educated at Chitralada School which was established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of the Dusit Palace, the residence of the King of Thailand in Bangkok. Many members of the Thai royal family attend the Chitralada School. Sirivannavari studied fashion and textile design at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In addition, she has a Masters degree from École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, France, a higher education institution that provides education in the field of fashion and haute couture techniques.

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Sirivannavari with the models wearing her designs at Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2008

In 2007, Sirivannavari was invited by Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer and founder of the fashion house Balmain, to present a fashion show at Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2008 at the Paris Opera House. Pierre Balmain had designed outfits for Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Sirivannavari’s grandmother, for her 1960 tour of the United States. Sirivannavari’s debut Paris collection was titled Presence of the Past and was influenced by memories of her grandmother Queen Sirikit with a modern interpretation of traditional Thai costume. Princess Sirivannavari has her own clothing brand, “Sirivannavari” and has a brand of personal home decor named “Sirivannavari Maison”.

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Sirivannavari competing in the badminton event of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games

Besides being interested in fashion, Sirivannavari was also an elite athlete. She represented Thailand in badminton at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, winning a team gold medal. Sirivannavari also competed as an equestrian athlete representing Thailand in the 2013 Southeast Asia Games, the 2017 Southeast Asia Games, winning a team silver medal, in the 2014 Asian Games, and in the 2019 Asian Riding Championships, winning a gold medal.

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King Vajiralongkorn (2nd right), Queen Suthida (2nd left), Princess Sirivannavari (left), Princess Bajrakitiyabha (center), and the royal noble consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani (right), attend a ceremony to commemorate the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on December 5, 2020

In 2016, Princess Sirivannavari’s father Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Princess Sirivannavari is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand but none of her brothers are. In Thailand, the Palace Law of Succession gives the sovereign the sole power and prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The sovereign has the sole power and prerogative to remove the heir to the throne from his or her position. However, King Vajiralongkorn has yet to name an heir to the throne. If the sovereign dies with no heir designated, there is a line of succession, and the chief state official invites the first in the line of succession to be sovereign.

Works Cited

Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sujarinee-vivacharawongse-consort-and-2nd-wife-of-king-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
Mehl, Scott. (2017) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
Sirivannavari (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirivannavari (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
สมเด็จพระเจ้าลูกเธอ เจ้าฟ้าสิริวัณณวรี นารีรัตนราชกัญญา (Princess Sirivannavari) (2023) Wikipedia (in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%AD_%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9F%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5_%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8D%E0%B8%8D%E0%B8%B2 (Accessed: February 14, 2023).

Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, Consort and 2nd Wife of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, the future King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, and their children; Credit – https://thaipoliticalprisoners.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/prince-and-family.jpg

Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, as she is now known, was a consort and the second of the four wives of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, then the Crown Prince. Born Yuvadhida Polpraserth on May 26, 1962, in Bangkok, Thailand, she is the daughter of Thanit Polpraserth and Yaovalak Komarakul na Nagara. Her father was a musician and composer and her mother was a singer.

Using the stage name Yuwathida Suraswadee, Sujarinee became an actress in 1977 when she was fifteen years old, starring in television dramas and movies. She was introduced to the then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and became the Crown Prince’s consort. In August 1979, Sujarinee announced her retirement from acting. At this time, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn was married to his first cousin Soamsawali Kitiyakaram known as Princess Soamsawali and they had a daughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha, born in 1978.

Sujarinee and Vajiralongkorn had four sons and one daughter:

Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (born 1981)
Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand (born 1987)

In February 1994, Sujarinee and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn were married. The Crown Prince’s father King Bhumibol Adulyadej and paternal grandmother Princess Srinagarindra attended the wedding but his mother Queen Sirikit, who was also the aunt of his first wife Princess Soamsawali, did not attend. After the wedding, the bride’s name was changed to Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhya, signifying she was a commoner married to a royal. Sujarinee was commissioned as a major in the Royal Thai Army and took part in royal ceremonies with Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.

In 1996, Sujarinee fled to the United Kingdom with her five children. The Crown Prince accused her of adultery and managed to retrieve their daughter and bring her back to Thailand. Sujarinee and the couple’s four sons were stripped of their royal titles and the couple’s marriage was dissolved. After the end of her marriage, Sujarinee and her sons used the royal surname Vivacharawongse and lived in the United States.

Works Cited

Mehl, Scott. (2014) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
Sujarinee Vivacharawongse (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujarinee_Vivacharawongse (Accessed: February 11, 2023).
สุจาริณี วิวัชรวงศ์ (Sujarinee Vivacharawongse) (2023) Wikipedia (in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B5_%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A8%E0%B9%8C (Accessed: February 11, 2023).

Princess Soamsawali of Thailand, 1st wife of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Soamsawali of Thailand; Credit – โดย Ernst Vikne – https://www.flickr.com/photos/iboy/4846608091/sizes/o/in/photostream/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11316773

The first of the four wives of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Soamsawali Kitiyakara was born on July 13, 1957, at Guy’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom. She is the elder of the two children and the elder of the two daughters of Adulakit Kitiyakara (1930 – 2004) and Princess Bandhu Savali Yugala (born 1933). Soamsawali’s father was the elder brother of Queen Sirikit, the wife of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Their paternal grandfather Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana was the son of King Chulalongkorn who reigned in Siam, Thailand’s former name, from 1868 – 1910. Adulakit Kitiyakara was a lawyer and served as the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Thailand and a member of the Privy Council of Thailand during the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Soamsawali’s mother Princess Bandhu Savali Yugala was also a descendant of King Chulalongkorn of Siam as her paternal grandfather Prince Yugala Dighambara was also King Chulalongkorn’s son. Soamsawali was born in London while her father was studying law at the Inn of Court’s Middle Temple. Her family returned to Thailand when Soamsawali was two-years-old.

Soamsawali has one sibling, a sister:

Sarali Kitiyakara (born 1966) married Thiradej Chirathiwat, had two sons

Soamsawali started her schooling at Chitralada School which was established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of the Dusit Palace, the residence of the King of Thailand in Bangkok. Members of the Thai royal family attended the Chitralada School. Soamsawali attended the school with her first cousin Princess Chulabhorn Walailak of Thailand, the youngest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. In 1966, Soamsawli’s family moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand when her father was appointed to be a judge there. Soamsawli attended a girls’ school, Regina Coeli College in Chiang Mai. When the family moved back to Bangkok, Soamsawali attended two secondary schools, Chulalongkorn University Demonstration School and Rajini School (Queen’s School) founded in 1904 by Queen Saovabha Phongsri.

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Crown Prince Vajiralongkornon and Soamsawali on their wedding day

On December 17, 1976, a formal engagement ceremony was held for nineteen-year-old Soamsawali and her twenty-four-year-old first cousin Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the only son and the heir of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and his wife, Queen Sirikit, Soamsawali’s paternal aunt, at the Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. The couple was married on January 3, 1977. After their marriage, Soamsawali’s official title became Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali, Royal Consort of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand.

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Soamsawali and Vajiralongkorn’s daughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, November 2020

Soamsawali and Vajiralongkorn had one daughter:

Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand (born 1978)

Shortly after his first marriage, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, a Thai actress. They had four sons and one daughter. Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn sued for divorce in the family court. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn accused Princess Soamsawali of being completely at fault for the failed marriage. She was not able to refute any of the charges because of lèse-majesté in Thailand. It is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent of Thailand. The penalty for committing lèse-majesté is three to fifteen years in prison for each count. The divorce was finalized in July 1993.

Princess Soamsawali and her former sisters-in-law on the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2010 (left to right: Princess Soamsawali, Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya); Credit – By Government of Thailand – [1]Uploaded by 2T, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12247558

Despite the divorce, Vajiralongkorn and Soamsawali remain on cordial terms. After the divorce Soamsawali was allowed to keep her title of princess and remain a member of the Thai royal family. In 2016, Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Soamsawali and her daughter continue to play a significant role in royal ceremonies and perform many duties on behalf of the Thai royal family.

Works Cited

Adulakit Kitiyakara (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adulakit_Kitiyakara (Accessed: February 4, 2023).
Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/queen-sirikit-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 4, 2023).
Mehl, Scott. (2014) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 4, 2023).
Soamsawali (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soamsawali (Accessed: February 4, 2023).
พระเจ้าวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าโสมสวลี กรมหมื่นสุทธนารีนาถ (2023) Wikipedia (Soamsawali in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A8%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%AD_%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%84%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5_%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%96 (Accessed: February 4, 2023).

Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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An attorney and a diplomat, Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, The Princess Rajasarini Siribajra, also known as Princess Pa, is the eldest of the seven children of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, and the only child of the King and his first wife Princess Soamsawali of Thailand. She was born on December 7, 1978, at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Sadly, the princess remains in a coma after collapsing and losing consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia on December 14, 2022.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha (on the right) with her half-sister Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (on the left), and her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (in the middle), 2019; Credit – By NBT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKLRF8wE_nI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88430260

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has four half-brothers and one half-sister from her father’s relationship with Thai actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, who later took the name took the name Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhaya and became the second of King Vajiralongkorn’s four wives:

Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (born 1981)
Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (born 1987)

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has a half-brother from her father’s third of four marriages to Srirasm Suwadi, formerly Princess Srirasm of Thailand:

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand (born 2005)

Shortly after her parents’ marriage, Bajrakitiyabha’s father, then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, a Thai actress. They had four sons and one daughter. Bajrakitiyabha’s mother Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn sued for divorce in the family court. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn accused Princess Soamsawali of being completely at fault for the failed marriage. She was not able to refute any of the charges because of lèse-majesté in Thailand. It is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent of Thailand. The penalty for committing lèse-majesté is three to fifteen years in prison for each count. The divorce was finalized in July 1993. Despite the divorce, King Vajiralongkorn and Soamsawali remain on cordial terms. After the divorce Soamsawali was allowed to keep her title of princess and remain a member of the Thai royal family.

Bajrakitiyabha first attended the Rajini School (Queen’s School) in Bangkok, Thailand founded in 1904 by Queen Saovabha Phongsri, a school that her mother also attended. She then began her secondary education at Heathfield School in Ascot, England. Bajrakitiyabha finished her secondary education at Chitralada School which was established by her grandfather King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of the Dusit Palace, the residence of the King of Thailand in Bangkok. Many members of the Thai royal family attended the Chitralada School.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha then began her law studies. In 2000, she received an LL.B degree (Bachelor of Laws) from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand and a B.A. degree (Bachelor of Arts) in International Relations from Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University, Muang Thong Thani, a suburb of Bangkok. Bajrakitiyabha then attended Cornell Law School at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in the United States where she received a LL.M degree (Master of Laws) in 2002 and a J.S.D. degree (Doctor of the Science of Law) in 2005.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, Thai Ambassador to Austria, meeting Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz at the Foreign Ministry in Vienna, Austria; Credit – By Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres – Prinzessin Mahidol bei AM Kurz, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35227109

After receiving her J.S.D. degree Princess Bajrakitiyabha worked for a year at the Thai Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City, before returning to Thailand. She then worked as a prosecuting attorney in the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok. Then, for several years, Bajrakitiyabha served as the Thai Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia, before returning to work in the Office of the Attorney General. In 2021, the princess began working at the Royal Security Command in the position of Chief of Staff of The King’s Close Bodyguard Command and received the rank of general.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s father King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand; Credit – Wikipedia

In 2016, Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s father Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Princess Bajrakitiyabha plays a significant role in royal ceremonies and performs many duties on behalf of the Thai royal family. She is particularly active in the Friends in Need Volunteers Foundation and the Thai Red Cross Society.

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Princess Bajrakitiyabha is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand. In Thailand, the Palace Law of Succession gives the sovereign the sole power and prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The sovereign has the sole power and prerogative to remove the heir to the throne from his or her position. However, King Vajiralongkorn has yet to name an heir to the throne. If the sovereign dies with no heir designated, there is a line of succession, and the chief state official invites the first in the line of succession to be sovereign.

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Officials pay their respects in front of a picture of Princess Bajrakitiyabha after she was hospitalized due to a heart condition at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

On December 14, 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, while training her dogs for the Thailand Working Dog Championship organized by the Royal Thai Army, collapsed and lost consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia. She received emergency care at a nearby hospital and was then transferred to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. In a January 7, 2023, statement, the royal palace said Princess Bajrakitiyabha remained unconscious and on life support after falling into a coma. The statement attributed her collapse to an irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial illness usually associated with pneumonia. The royal palace, in a prior statement, also said she suffered a brain aneurysm. There have been no further statements from the royal palace.

Works Cited

Bajrakitiyabha (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajrakitiyabha (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
สมเด็จเจ้าฟ้าฯ กรมหลวงราชสาริณีสิริพัชร มหาวัชรราชธิดา (Bajrakitiyabha) (2023) Wikipedia (in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9F%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AF_%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3_%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B2 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
Faulder, D. (2016) Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol: Thailand’s royal diplomat, lawyer, advocate, Nikkei Asia. Nikkei Asia. Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Agents-of-Change-2017/Princess-Bajrakitiyabha-Mahidol-Thailand-s-royal-diplomat-lawyer-advocate (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
Marcelo, Philip. (2023) Thai official: No plans to void Pfizer COVID vaccine contract after its princess fell into a coma following a booster shot., AP NEWS. Associated Press. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccine-pfizer-thailand-203948163859 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
Mehl, Scott. (2017) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 10, 2023).

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Prince Dipangkorn with his half-sister Princess Sirivannavari (on the right) and his half-sister Princess Bajrakitiyabha (on the left), 2019; Credit – By NBT – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKLRF8wE_nI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88430260

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand is the only child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and his third wife Srirasmi Suwadi. He was born on April 29, 2005, at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The prince’s parents divorced in 2014.

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Prince Dipangkorn with his parents in 2007

Prince Dipangkorn is the only officially recognized son of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The prince has four much older half-brothers from his father’s second marriage, but they are not officially recognized as the king’s sons, since their mother fled the country with them. The 1924 Palace Law of Succession states that the king has the sole power and the prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The king also has absolute power to remove an heir apparent from the position. If he does so, his entire lineage is removed from any claim to the throne. The king can also exclude any member of the royalty from the line of succession. Prince Dipangkorn is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand but so are his much older half-sisters listed below. King Maha Vajiralongkorn has not yet named an heir.

Prince Dipangkorn has one half-sister from his father’s first marriage in 1977 to his maternal first cousin Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara. After her divorce in 1993, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara retained her title as princess and remained a member of the Thai royal family.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha (born 1978)

Prince Dipangkorn has four half-brothers and one half-sister from his father’s second marriage to Thai actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth. Maha Vajiralongkorn began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth shortly after his first marriage. They eventually married in February 1994, and she took the name Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhaya. In 1996, she fled to the United Kingdom with her children. The Crown Prince accused her of adultery and managed to retrieve their daughter and bring her back to Thailand. Sujarinee and the couple’s sons were stripped of their royal titles and the couple’s marriage was dissolved. Known as Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, she moved with her sons to the United States.

Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (born 1981)
Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (born 1987)

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Princess Sirivannavari (left) takes a photo as she stands with her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (2nd left), half-sister Princess Bajrakitiyabha (center), father King Maha Vajiralongkorn (2nd right), and Queen Suthida (right) as they wave from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall of the Grand Palace on the final day of the king’s royal coronation, May 6, 2019

Prince Dipangkorn started his education at Chitralada School in Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, initially founded in 1957 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej for the children of the royal family and palace staff. Today the school accepts general students and has primary and secondary school programs. The prince now attends the Bavarian International School, located at the Schloss Haimhausen, a Rococo mansion located in Haimhausen, a short distance from Munich, Germany. Prince Dipangkorn lives in a villa with a pool in Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany, on Lake Starnberg with two dozen servants. There is speculation that Prince Dipangkorn has learning difficulties and that he is in a development program at the Bavarian International School. Further speculation suggests that after King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s death, Prince Dipangkorn will probably become King of Thailand but his maternal aunt Princess Sirindhorn or his eldest half-sibling Princess Bajrakitiyabha will rule.

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipangkorn_Rasmijoti> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
Political Prisoners in Thailand. 2020. Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti – Political Prisoners In Thailand. [online] Available at: <https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/tag/prince-dipangkorn-rasmijoti/> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
South China Morning Post. 2019. 5 Facts About Thailand’S Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. [online] Available at: <https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3038884/5-things-know-about-prince-dipangkorn-rasmijoti-son-thai> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
Tanno, S., 2020. Thai King’s Son Lives A Life Of ‘Loneliness’ In German Villa. [online] Mail Online. Available at: <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8348229/Thai-King-Rama-Xs-son-lives-life-loneliness-rejection-German-villa.html> [Accessed 5 September 2020].

Queen Suthida of Thailand

Credit – By Tris_T7 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79159558

Queen Suthida of Thailand is the fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne of the Kingdom of Thailand in 2016 after the 70-year-reign of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The first three marriages of King Maha Vajiralongkorn all ended in divorce. Born Suthida Tidjai on June 3, 1978, in Hat Yai, Thailand, she is the daughter of Kham Tidjai and Jangheang Tidjai. She graduated from Hatyaiwittayalai School, a secondary school in Hat Yai, Thailand. Suthida then attended Assumption University, a private Catholic university with four campuses in Thailand, graduating in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts.

Suthida was a flight attendant for JALways Airlines, now part of Japan Airlines, and then for Thai Airways. She met her future husband, then Crown Prince of Thailand, in 2013, and joined the palace guard later that year and was promoted to deputy commander of the Crown Prince’s bodyguard unit in 2014. Suthida was linked romantically to the Crown Prince following his divorce from his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee in 2014. In October 2016, international media reports labeled Suthida as the designated King’s Consort, despite the palace never officially declaring their relationship. On December 1, 2016, Suthida was appointed Commander of the Special Operations Unit of the King’s Guard and promoted to the rank of General in the Royal Thai Army.

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Marriage Ceremony

On May 1, 2019, just days before his coronation, King Vajiralongkorn surprisingly married Suthida at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, a mansion on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. During the ceremony, broadcast on Thai television, Suthida prostrated herself on the ground before the King while offering him incense and flowers, according to royal tradition. The King appointed her Queen and granted her royal powers in front of a gathering of senior politicians and members of the Thai royal family.

Suthida prostrating herself before the King; Credit – https://www.tellerreport.com/

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suthida> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
Global News. 2019. Flight Attendant, General, Royal: Meet Thailand’S New Queen. [online] Available at: <https://globalnews.ca/news/5230848/queen-suthida-thailand/> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
Los Angeles Times. 2019. King Vajiralongkorn Of Thailand Marries His Bodyguard, Now Queen Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-thai-king-bodyguard-queen-20190502-story.html> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand

King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand in 1946; Credit – Wikipedia

Known for being found shot dead in his bed under mysterious circumstances, King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand was born on September 20, 1925, in Heidelberg, Germany where his parents were studying at Heidelberg University at the time of his birth. He was the second of the three children and the elder of the two sons of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej and Princess Srinagarindra, born Sangwan Talapat. Prince Mahidol Adulyadej was the son of King Chulalongkorn and Sri Savarindira, a consort and half-sister of King Chulalongkorn. King Chulalongkorn had 92 consorts during his lifetime and had 77 surviving children.

King Ananda Mahidol had two siblings:

Princess Galyani Vadhana (1923 – 2008), married (1) Colonel Aram Rattanakul Serireongrit, had one daughter, divorced (2) Prince Varananda Dhavaj, no children
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (1927 – 2016), married Sirikit Kitiyakara, had one son and three daughters

Ananda Mahidol on the left, with his mother and siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1928, Ananda Mahidol’s family went back to Thailand after his father received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. On September 24, 1929, King Ananda Mahidol’s father Prince Mahidol Adulyadej died of kidney failure at the age of 37. The prince did much to improve medicine and public health in Thailand and is considered to be the father of modern medicine and public health of Thailand. Ananda Mahidol began his early education at Mater Dei School in Bangkok, Thailand. In 1933, he moved to Switzerland along with his mother and siblings where he attended Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In 1935, King Prajadhipok of Thailand, one of Ananda Mahidol’s many uncles abdicated due to political issues and health problems. He decided not to name a successor to the throne. Instead, the Cabinet, with the approval of the National Assembly, used the 1924 Palace Law of Succession and named nine-year-old Ananda Mahidol King of Thailand. Because the new king was a child and attending school in Switzerland, three regents were appointed to take over the duties of the young king.

King Ananda Mahidol in 1938; Credit – Wikipedia

King Ananda Mahidol (left) and his brother Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej (right) inspect a model train in 1938. Their mother and sister are in the background; Credit – Wikipedia

In December 1941, during World War II, Japan occupied Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol was studying in Switzerland and he remained there until the end of World War II. He returned to Thailand in December 1945 after receiving a law degree from the University of Lausanne. King Ananda Mahidol intended to return to the University of Lausanne to obtain a Ph.D. in law. He then planned to return permanently to Thailand and have his coronation.

King Ananda Mahidol and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1946; Credit – Wikipedia

It was noted at the time that Ananda Mahidol did not want to be king and felt his reign would not last long. In January 1946, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the British commander in Southeast Asia, visited Ananda Mahidol in Bangkok. Lord Mountbatten described the young king as “a frightened, short-sighted boy, his sloping shoulders and thin chest behung with gorgeous diamond-studded decorations, altogether a pathetic and lonely figure.” After attending a public function with King Ananda Mahidol, Lord Mountbatten observed, “His nervousness increased to such an alarming extent, that I came very close to support him in case he passed out”.

The Boromphiman Throne Hall in the Grand Palace. The king’s bedroom was on the upper floor; Credit – By Sodacan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8958144

On June 9, 1946, 20-year-old King Ananda Mahidol was found shot to death in his bed in the Boromphiman Throne Hall, a residential palace located in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. He died from a single gunshot wound to the forehead. King Ananda Mahidol was scheduled to return to the University of Lausanne in Switzerland four days later. He was succeeded by his 18-year-old brother Bhumibol Adulyadej who reigned for seventy years. King Ananda Mahidol’s funeral did not take place until four years later when King Bhumibol Adulyadej had completed his education in Switzerland and returned permanently to Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol’s ashes are enshrined in the base of the Buddha statue at Wat Suthat in Bangkok, Thailand.

King Ananda Mahidol’s ashes are enshrined in the base of the Buddha; Credit – www.findagave,com

Although three people were tried and executed for King Ananda Mahidol’s supposed assassination, the circumstances of his death have never been fully explained and his death is still seen as a mystery. King Ananda Mahidol’s secretary Chaliao Pathumros and his chamberlains Chit Singhaseni and Butsat Patmasarin were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder the king. After a very long trial, the court ruled that King Ananda Mahidol had been assassinated but that there was no proof that any of the three had killed the king. However, Chit Singhaseni was found guilty of being a party to the murder.

Chit Singhaseni appealed his conviction and the prosecution appealed the acquittal of Chaliao Pathumros and Butsat Patmasarin. After fifteen months of deliberation, the Appeals Court dismissed Chit Singhaseni’s appeal and also found Butsat Patmasarin guilty. They then both appealed to the Supreme Court which deliberated for ten months before upholding both convictions and also finding Chaliao Pathumro guilty. All three were executed on February 17, 1955. King Bhumibol Adulyadej later said that he did not believe they were guilty.

Unofficial Royalty: The Mysterious Death of Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Ananda Mahidol. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
Flantzer, Susan. (2014). King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-bhumibol-adulyadej-of-thailand/ [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
Th.wikipedia.org. (2019). พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล พระอัฐมรามาธิบดินทร – วิกิพีเดีย. [online] Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%A5_%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%90%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A3 [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019]. (Thai Wikipedia – King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand)
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UPDATED 10/15/16: World’s Longest Reigning Monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Dies

UPDATED 10/15/16

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died on October 13, 2016 at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand at the age of 88. The King had been ill for several years. At the time of his death, King Bhumibol was the world’s longest-reigning monarch, having reigned for 70 years and 126 days. According to the law of succession, the cabinet will inform the president of the National Assembly, who will invite Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn to become king. Mourning ceremonies, the funeral, and cremation are expected to take place in the future. When the late King’s sister Princess Galyani Vadhana died, her funeral was held ten months after her death.

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BBC: Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej dead at 88

Learn more about the Thai Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty: Thai Royal Family

Princess Chulabhorn Walailak of Thailand

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Chulabhorn Walailak of Thailand is the youngest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Sirikit Kitiyakara. She was born on July 4, 1957, in Bangkok. The princess has three older siblings:

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya (born 1951), married and divorced American businessman Peter Jensen, had two daughters and one son, their son was killed in the 2004 tsunami
King Maha Vajiralongkorn (born 1952), married (1) Soamsavali Kitiyakara, had one daughter, divorced (2) Yuvadhida Polpraserth, had five children, divorced (3) Srirasm Akharaphongpreecha, had one son, divorced (4) Suthida Tidjai
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (born 1955), unmarried

Like her elder siblings, she attended the Chitralada School in the Dusit Palace complex. Following her secondary education, she attended Kasetart University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Organic Chemistry in 1979. She continued her studies in organic chemistry at Mahidol University, receiving her doctorate in 1985.

In 1982, Princess Chulabhorn married Virayudh Tishyasarin, an Air Vice Marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force. With special compensation from her father, she retained her royal title and style. The marriage ended in divorce two years later. They had two daughters:

Princess Siribhachudhabhorn – known as Princess Ribha (born 1982)
Princess Adityadhornkitikhun – known as Princess Dita (born 1984)

In 1987, she established the Chulabhorn Research Institute where she serves as president. A recipient of the UNESCO Einstein Award in 1986, she is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. In addition to her scientific and educational work, the princess is a classically trained musician.