Ramphaiphanni
Encyclopedia
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Queen Rambhai Barni of Siam ( ;RTGS:
—Ramphaiphanni—), formerly Her Serene Highness Princess Rambhai Barni Svastivatana ( ;RTGS:
—Ramphaiphanni Sawatdiwat—; born 20 December 1904 – 22 May 1984), was the wife and Queen Consort
of King Prajadhipok
of Siam.
and Princess Piyamawadi
) and Princess Abha Barni Gaganang. She was given the nickname by courtiers as Thanying Na or Princess Na (. At the age of 2 she entered the Palace, as with tradition to be 'given' to a Queen for education; in Princess Rambhai Barni's case it was HM Queen Saovabha
, wife of HM King Chulalongkorn
(her aunt), from then on she lived at Dusit Palace.
After the death of King Chulalongkorn in 1910, She was moved to the Grand Palace, where she studied at the Rajini School (or Queen's School) set up by Queen Saovabha. During this period she became very close with her cousin and Queen Saovabha's youngest son HRH Prince Prajadhipok
Sakdidej, the Prince of Sukhothai. In 1917, after completing his studies abroad and his tradition monkhood, Prince Prajadhipok and Princess Rambhai Barni were married at Bang Pa-In Palace, under the blessings of her new brother-in-law; HM King Vajiravudh
. the couple lived at the Prince's Bangkok residence the Sukhothai Palace.
The King and Queen preferred to spend most of their time away from Bangkok
, preferring instead to stay at the summer beach resort town of Hua Hin
in Prachuap Khiri Khan province
at a Summer Palace, which was called “Klai Kangwon” (Thai:
วังไกลกังวล) (or “Far from Worries”), which they had built. It was here in June 1932 that the Royal couple was told of the Revolution instigated by the Khana Ratsadon
, which demanded of the absolutist King a constitution for the people of Siam. The event would be a turning point for Rambhai Barni and her husband as the absolute rule of the House of Chakri was replaced by a constitutional regime.
In 1933, the Royal couple left Siam, for Europe where the King was due to have an eye operation in England
. Despite the long distance the King continued to fight with his government back in Bangkok, through letters and telegrams. The fight came to a head when the government refused to accept Prajadhipok's ancient power of pardon. The King first threatened, but when he was ignored decided to on 2 March 1935 to abdicate his throne, he was succeeded by his nephew Ananda Mahidol
. The Royal Couple settled in Surrey
, first at Knowle House then at Glen Pammant.
. they led a peaceful life there, gardening in the morning and the King writing his autobiography in the afternoon. In 1938 the royal couple would moved again to Compton House, in the village of Wentworth in Virginia Water
, Surrey. The couple had no children, but adopted the infant son of one of Prajadhipok's deceased brothers. (The stepson, Prince Jirasakdi, would later serve as a RAF fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain
. He died on duty in 1942.)
Due to active bombing by the German Luftwaffe
in 1940, the couple again moved, first to a small house in Devon
, and then to Lake Vyrnwy Hotel in Powys
, Wales
, where the former King suffered a heart attack. King Prajadhipok eventually died from heart failure on 30 May 1941.
, the Japanese government forced the Thai government to declare war on both Great Britain and the United States of America. The Free Thai Movement
set up partially by Thai exiles living abroad; the movement included many diplomats, students and members of the Royal Family.
The Queen and her brother, HSH Prince Subhasvastiwongse Snith Svastivatana, made clear their Free Thai
sympathies and used their connections to assist like-minded students in organising a resistance movement in Britain. She was among the four women who volunteered for non-military tasks with the Free Thai. Despite not being an official member, the Queen assisted the movement through fund raising and lobbying influential Ministers.
. She spend the rest of her life at the Sukhothai Palace. Dying in 1984 at the age of 79. She was cremated in a Grand Royal Funeral presided over by her nephew the King at Sanam Luang in front of the Grand Palace.
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Queen Rambhai Barni of Siam ( ;RTGS:
Royal Thai General System of Transcription
The Royal Thai General System of Transcription is the official system for rendering Thai language words in the Latin alphabet, published by the Royal Institute of Thailand...
—Ramphaiphanni—), formerly Her Serene Highness Princess Rambhai Barni Svastivatana ( ;RTGS:
Royal Thai General System of Transcription
The Royal Thai General System of Transcription is the official system for rendering Thai language words in the Latin alphabet, published by the Royal Institute of Thailand...
—Ramphaiphanni Sawatdiwat—; born 20 December 1904 – 22 May 1984), was the wife and Queen Consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of King Prajadhipok
Prajadhipok
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VII was the seventh monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of the country. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to huge political...
of Siam.
Early life
Her Serene Highness Princess Rambhai Barni Svastivatana was born on 20 December 1904, to Prince Svasti Sobhana the Prince of Svastivatana Visishta (a son of HM King MongkutMongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
and Princess Piyamawadi
Piam
HRH Princess Piyamavadi Sri Bajarindra Mata, the Royal Consort to King Mongkut or Chao Khun Chom Manda Piam . She was one of the royal wives of King Mongkut...
) and Princess Abha Barni Gaganang. She was given the nickname by courtiers as Thanying Na or Princess Na (. At the age of 2 she entered the Palace, as with tradition to be 'given' to a Queen for education; in Princess Rambhai Barni's case it was HM Queen Saovabha
Saovabha
Queen Saovabha Bongsri was a half-sister and queen of King Chulalongkorn of Thailand, and mother of both King Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok...
, wife of HM King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
(her aunt), from then on she lived at Dusit Palace.
After the death of King Chulalongkorn in 1910, She was moved to the Grand Palace, where she studied at the Rajini School (or Queen's School) set up by Queen Saovabha. During this period she became very close with her cousin and Queen Saovabha's youngest son HRH Prince Prajadhipok
Prajadhipok
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VII was the seventh monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of the country. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to huge political...
Sakdidej, the Prince of Sukhothai. In 1917, after completing his studies abroad and his tradition monkhood, Prince Prajadhipok and Princess Rambhai Barni were married at Bang Pa-In Palace, under the blessings of her new brother-in-law; HM King Vajiravudh
Vajiravudh
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Phra Bat Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Si Sintharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VI was the sixth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1910 until his death...
. the couple lived at the Prince's Bangkok residence the Sukhothai Palace.
Queen
In 1925, King Vajiravudh died without leaving any issue, the crown was then passed on to his younger brother and heir. Princess Rambhai Barni's husband ascended the throne as King Prajadhipok (or Rama VII), she was immediately given the appropriate title of Queen Consort of Siam. Prajadhipok followed his brother's abandonment of polygamy and instead had one Queen. Both the King and the Queen received modern (and therefore European) educations in their youths, once they inherited the throne they set about modernizing the institution of monarchy copying European dress and customs.The King and Queen preferred to spend most of their time away from Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, preferring instead to stay at the summer beach resort town of Hua Hin
Hua Hin
Hua Hin is a famous beach resort town in Thailand, in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some 200 km south of Bangkok. It has a population of 84,883 in an area of 911 km², and is one of eight districts of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province.Hua Hin is closely associated with the...
in Prachuap Khiri Khan province
Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
Prachuap Khiri Khan is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phetchaburi in the north and Chumphon in the south. To the west it borders Tanintharyi Division of Myanmar....
at a Summer Palace, which was called “Klai Kangwon” (Thai:
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
วังไกลกังวล) (or “Far from Worries”), which they had built. It was here in June 1932 that the Royal couple was told of the Revolution instigated by the Khana Ratsadon
Siamese Revolution of 1932
The Siamese Revolution of 1932 or the Siamese Coup d'état of 1932 was a crucial turning point in Thai history in the 20th century...
, which demanded of the absolutist King a constitution for the people of Siam. The event would be a turning point for Rambhai Barni and her husband as the absolute rule of the House of Chakri was replaced by a constitutional regime.
In 1933, the Royal couple left Siam, for Europe where the King was due to have an eye operation in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Despite the long distance the King continued to fight with his government back in Bangkok, through letters and telegrams. The fight came to a head when the government refused to accept Prajadhipok's ancient power of pardon. The King first threatened, but when he was ignored decided to on 2 March 1935 to abdicate his throne, he was succeeded by his nephew Ananda Mahidol
Ananda Mahidol
Ananda Mahidol was the eighth monarch of Thailand under the House of Chakri. At the time he was recognized as king by the National Assembly, in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945. Six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot...
. The Royal Couple settled in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, first at Knowle House then at Glen Pammant.
Life in Exile
The couple moved again to Vane Court, the oldest house in the village of Biddenden in KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. they led a peaceful life there, gardening in the morning and the King writing his autobiography in the afternoon. In 1938 the royal couple would moved again to Compton House, in the village of Wentworth in Virginia Water
Virginia Water
Virginia Water is an affluent village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, England....
, Surrey. The couple had no children, but adopted the infant son of one of Prajadhipok's deceased brothers. (The stepson, Prince Jirasakdi, would later serve as a RAF fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. He died on duty in 1942.)
Due to active bombing by the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
in 1940, the couple again moved, first to a small house in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, and then to Lake Vyrnwy Hotel in Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, where the former King suffered a heart attack. King Prajadhipok eventually died from heart failure on 30 May 1941.
Leader of the Resistance
After the King's death, the Queen became more involved in politics. In December 1941 the Japanese Empire invaded and occupied ThailandJapanese Invasion of Thailand
The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan. Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire.-Background:...
, the Japanese government forced the Thai government to declare war on both Great Britain and the United States of America. The Free Thai Movement
Free Thai Movement
The Free Thai Movement was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region, and were notable for being the only World War II resistance movement to use fighter aircraft of its...
set up partially by Thai exiles living abroad; the movement included many diplomats, students and members of the Royal Family.
The Queen and her brother, HSH Prince Subhasvastiwongse Snith Svastivatana, made clear their Free Thai
Free Thai Movement
The Free Thai Movement was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region, and were notable for being the only World War II resistance movement to use fighter aircraft of its...
sympathies and used their connections to assist like-minded students in organising a resistance movement in Britain. She was among the four women who volunteered for non-military tasks with the Free Thai. Despite not being an official member, the Queen assisted the movement through fund raising and lobbying influential Ministers.
Return and death
In 1949, the Queen was invited to return to Thailand, bringing with her the King's ashes. After her return she continued to carry out many official duties on behalf of the new King Bhumibol AdulyadejBhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...
. She spend the rest of her life at the Sukhothai Palace. Dying in 1984 at the age of 79. She was cremated in a Grand Royal Funeral presided over by her nephew the King at Sanam Luang in front of the Grand Palace.
Titles and Styles
- 20 December 1904 – 26 August 1917 : Her Serene Highness Princess Rambhai Barni Svastivatana
- 26 August 1917 – 26 November 1925 : Her Serene Highness Princess Rambhai Barni, Royal Consort to HRH Prince Prajadhipok, Prince of Sukhothai
- 26 November 1925 – 2 March 1934 : Her Majesty Queen
- 2 March 1934 – 22 May 1984 : Her Majesty Queen Dowager