Thailand has had a Monarchy
for centuries. In critical period, the Thai people rally around
their beloved King. In time of peace, the Monarch is the center of
faith. It is becaus e of the people' s love and loyalty to their
King that Thailand has remained and independent country. This column
is to honor the Kings of the Chakri
Dynasty.
His Majesty King Mongkut
was born on Thursday the 18th of October 1804. He was the second son
of Phra Buddha
Lertla Naphalai (King Rama II) and Queen Sri Suriyendra, whose
first--born son died at birth in 1801. Prince Mongkut was five years
old when his father succeeded to the Throne in 1809.
In a letter to an American
friend before he himself ascended to the Throne, Prince Mongkut
explained his name and title as follows: "Chao" corresponds to the
English word "Lord", or the Latin word Dominus. "Fah" means the sky,
but when used with a person's name it becomes an adjective of
exaltation, equivalent to the phrase "as high as the sky".
Mongkut means "crown". The name Chao Fah
Mongkut thus means "The High Prince of the Crown," or
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince"
When His Royal Highness
Prince Mongkut became King, he was generally known in Siam as
"Phra Chom Klao", but foreigners always called him
Mongkut.
Early Life
Until the age of nine,
Prince, Mongkut lived at an old palace on the Thon Buri
side of the Chao Phraya River. He was given traditional education
befitting a Siamese Crown Prince being groomed to be King. His
studies included literature and poetry in Siamese and Pali, the
ancient language
of the Buddhist religion. He was also taught history and the ancient
art of
warfare, which included the use of many kinds of weapons and elephant
- and horse - riding. He learned the precepts of Buddhism, including
the Ten Perfections(parami), namely, alms--giving; morality;
renunciation, or seclusion from sensual pleasures; wisdom; effort;
patients-endurance; truthfulness; determination; kindness and
equanimity.
At the tender age of 12,
Prince Mongkut was assigned by his royal father to take charge of
the armed forces. Assisted by an uncle, he supervised the settlement
of Mon refugees who had come into the Kingdom by way of Tak, Uthai
and Kanchanaburi provinces.
When he was 14, the Prince
was ordained as a novice monk for seven months at Mahathat Temple
just outside the Grand Palace. Then, when he was 20, he entered the
monkhood at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Royal Temple, but
later moved to a smaller and more peaceful temple at the edge of the
city. The little known Samorai Temple was where he thought he could
better pursue his study of Buddhism.
In
the Yellow Robe of a Buddhist Monk
Two weeks after Prince
Mongkut's ordination to the monkhood, His Majesty King Phra Buddha
Lertla Naphalai passed away, and following Siamese tradition an
assembly of princes and high officials met together to choose his
successor. They elected Prince Chesdabodin as the next
King.
Ironically, it was his
period in monkhood, which required him to take a vow of poverty and
self-denial, that gave Prince Mongkut a good understanding of
statecraft. It allowed him to meet people from all walks of life,
from the humblest to the elite, Thais as well as foreigners. He
traveled to various parts of the Kingdom, barefoot, depending on
offerings of food and other necessities from the people. From the
Thais, he gained an invaluable first-hand insight into their welfare
and livelihood. From the foreigners, he obtained precious
information about the outside world, especially about technology and
and science.
Accession to the Throne
When His Majesty King Nang
Klao (the name by which Prince Chesdabodin was known when he became
King) passed away in 1851, the Accession Council elected Prince
Mongkut as his successor. When told of the decision, Prince Mongkut
said modestly that he would accept to avoid trouble, and left the
monkhood. But once he became King, he immediately instituted reforms
which would adapt the country to western ways.
Soon after his coronation,
it was customary for a king to appoint his deputy, or Uparaj, and
King Mongkut chose his full brother, Prince Chutamani as Deputy
King. By so doing, he returned to a tradition of the Ayutthaya
Kingdom 250 years before and followed the example set by King
Naresuan in appointing his younger brother as Deputy King, according
him an almost equal status and a coronation of nearly the same
splendor. Prince Chutamani thus became known as His Majesty King
Pinklao; he was interested mainly in national defence, particularly
the navy and the artillery.
Since King Mogkut was
already proficient in the English language, he was anxious that
other members of the Court be likewise trained in this foreign
language. Not long after he ascended the Throne in 1851, two
missionaries, a Dr.Bradley and a Dr.Jones, received a letter from
the Grand Chamberlain, telling them of His Majesty's wish that the
ladies of the court be taught English, and asking their help to find
teachers. The missionaries assigned their wives, Mrs.Bradley and
Mrs.Jones, and a third woman, Mrs.Stephen Matton, to take turns
going to the palace to give lessons.
On August 13, 1851, a
class was started for young ladies between the age of 16 and 21.
They were soon joined by princesses from the court of King Rama II,
and the class grew to 30. But after three years, the lessons were
stopped as the students got bored of being taught only from
religious texts and shown pictures from the Bible, in what was seen
as an effort to convert them to Christianity. It was then that the
King sent word to his Consul in Singapore to hire an English teacher
on the condition that she would refrain from teaching religion.
Thus, in 1862, Mrs.Anna Leonowens arrived in Bangkok to teach
English to the Children of the King of Siam for four years.
Events Leading to His Majesty's Death
His Majesty King Mongkut
was greatly interested in astronomy. He correctly calculated the
time and place of a total eclipse of the sun, which occurred on
August 18, 1868, and pinpointed a remote village in Prachuab Khiri
Khan, on the west coast of the Gulf of Siam, as the place where it
could be clearly seen. The King invited many dignitaries, including
the Governor of Singapore, Henry Orde. The French Government sent a
large party of scientists.
In his letter of
invitation, Sir Henry Orde, who came by sea, the King told him to
come to the place at "East Greenwich longitude 99 degrees 42' and
latitude North 11 degrees 39'." The total eclipse of the sun, which
lasted six minutes and 46 seconds, occurred exactly as the King had
predicted and the European scientists conceded that he was a
brilliant mathematician and real astronomer.
His Majesty's effort to
learn English at an advanced age and become an expert in a western
science, however, met a sad end. The King's pavilion for viewing the
eclipse was built on low ground in a mosquito-infested spot. Soon
after his return to Bangkok, His Majesty fell seriously ill from
malaria caught at the site, and his eldest son, Prince
Chulalongkorn, who had gone with him to watch the
eclipse.
His
Majesty King Mongkut passed away on the night of October 18, 1868.
It was 64th birthday. |