Coronation Day in Thailand
Description:
The man who has ruled the country longer than any monarch in the world, and who has earned the immense loyalty of his people, seemed very far from the throne when he was born in 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At that time, the country was ruled by King Pratchathipok, and several of his sons were the first in the order of succession. Also alive were his father, Prince Mahidon Songla, who studied medicine at Harvard University, and his older brother, Prince Ananda Mahidon. It seemed that the future King Bhumipong Adulyadej was going to live a more or less ordinary life in relative obscurity, though no doubt strictly guided by his father, who wanted to use his education and social position to improve the social welfare of the Siamese people.
God, however, judged differently. Prince Mahidon died in 1929 and King Prajathipok abdicated in 1935. The young king, Ananda Mahidon, spent the first 11 years of his reign mainly in Switzerland with his mother, sister and younger brother, where he continued his education until he was drafted to his homeland in connection with the outbreak of World War II. He died in 1946, and Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej, then 19, suddenly became the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty. He subsequently returned to Lucerne to pursue his studies in political science, in accordance with his new role.
Two years later, during a visit to Fontainebleau, he met the young and beautiful Mom Rachawong Sirikit Kittiyakar, daughter of the Thai Ambassador to France, His Highness Prince Nakkatrmongkl Kittiyakar. In 1948, their engagement was announced to the government. They married in Bangkok on 28 April 1950, and seven days later His Majesty was crowned in accordance with an ancient ceremony that took place at the Grand Royal Palace, from where his predecessors ruled the kingdom. Characteristically, he chose as his official residence a more modest villa - Chitralada, firmly following the oath given by the heir to the throne at the time of the coronation: "We will rule justly for the good and happiness of the Siamese people."