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 Queen Rambai Barni in 1925 | |
| Queen consort of Siam | |
| Tenure | 25 November 1925 –2 March 1935 |
| Coronation | 25 February 1926 |
| Born | Rambai Barni Svastivatana (1904-12-20)20 December 1904 Bangkok,Siam |
| Died | 22 May 1984(1984-05-22) (aged 79) Bangkok, Thailand |
| Burial | 9 April 1985 Royal Crematorium,Sanam Luang, Bangkok |
| Spouse | |
| House | Svastivatana (Chakri dynasty) |
| Father | Svasti Sobhana |
| Mother | Abha Barni Gagananga |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
| Signature |  |
Rambai Barni (Thai:รำไพพรรณี,RTGS: Ramphaiphanni,pronounced[rām.pʰāj.pʰān.nīː]), formerlyRambai Barni Svastivatana (Thai:รำไพพรรณี สวัสดิวัตน์,RTGS: Ramphaiphanni Sawatdiwat; born 20 December 1904 – 22 May 1984), wasQueen of Siam as the wife of KingPrajadhipok ofSiam.[1]
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Princess Rambai Barni Svastivatana was born on 20 December 1904, to Prince Svasti Sobhana, the Prince of Svastivatana Visishta (a son of HM KingMongkut andPrincess Piyamawadi) and Princess Abha Barni Gaganang. She was given the nickname,Thanying Na or Princess Na (Thai:ท่านหญิงนา). At the age of two she entered the palace, to be "given" to a queen for education as was the custom. In Princess Rambai Barni's case it was QueenSaovabha, wife of HM KingChulalongkorn (her aunt). From then on she lived atDusit Palace.
After the death of King Chulalongkorn in 1910, she was moved to theGrand Palace, where she studied at theRajini School (or Queen's School) set up by Queen Saovabha. During this period she became very close to her cousin, Queen Saovabha's youngest son, PrincePrajadhipok Sakdidej, the Prince of Sukhothai. In 1917, after completing his studies abroad and the customary period ofmonasticism, Prince Prajadhipok and Princess Rambai Barni were married atBang Pa-In Palace and given the blessings of her new brother-in-law, KingVajiravudh. The couple lived at the prince's Bangkok residence, Sukhothai Palace.
In 1925, King Vajiravudh died without leaving any male issue (his only daughter, Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda, was born a day earlier and palace law dictated that the throne must pass to the next male full-sibling of the king). The crown was then passed on to his younger brother and heir. Princess Rambai Barni's husband ascended the throne as King Prajadhipok (or Rama VII), she was immediately invested with title of Queen Consort of Siam after her husband's owncoronation ceremony. Prajadhipok followed his brother's abandonment of polygamy and instead had one queen. Both the king and queen received modern European educations in their youth. Once they inherited the throne they set about modernizing the institution of monarchy, copying European dress and customs.
The king and queen spent most of their time away fromBangkok, preferring instead to stay at the beach resort town ofHua Hin inPrachuap Khiri Khan Province at a palace calledKlai Kangwon (Thai: วังไกลกังวล) (or "far from worries"), which they had built. It was here in June 1932 that the royal couple was told of therevolution 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 Rambai Barni and her husband, as the absolute rule of theHouse of Chakri was replaced by a constitutional regime.
In the early stages of the constitutional monarchy, the King and the royalists seemed to be able to compromise with Khana Ratsadon. The constitutional bill which was drafted byPridi Banomyong and intended to be a permanent one was made temporary. The new constitution restored some of the monarch's lost power and status. Among them were introduction of unelected half of the House of Representatives and royal veto power. The country's first prime ministerPhraya Manopakorn Nititada was a conservative and royalist nobleman.
The compromise broke down quickly. He did not contest when his interpretation of Pridi's economic plan, which also aim on land reform and seizure of royal land, was released with his signature. The King played a role in the coup d'état of April 1933 where the House was ordered to close by the Prime Minister. He signed an order to execute Khana Ratsadon leaders. But Khana Ratsadon's military wing leaderPhraya Phahol Phonphayuhasenaousted the government and restored its power.
He played an active role in an anti-revolutionary network, which also aim to assassinate Khana Ratsadon's leaders.[2]: 27
In October 1933, the maverick PrinceBoworadej, a former minister of defence, led an armed revolt against the government. In theBoworadet Rebellion, he mobilised several provincial garrisons and marched on Bangkok, occupying theDon Muang aerodrome. Prince Boworadej accused the government of being disrespectful to the monarch and of promoting communism, and demanded that government leaders resign. The rebellion ultimately failed.
The King did not directly supported the rebellion, but there was acheck from the treasury to Boworadej.[2]: 11 The insurrection diminished the king's prestige. When the revolt began, Prajadhipok immediately informed the government that he regretted the strife and civil disturbances. The royal couple then took refuge atSongkhla, in the far south. The king's withdrawal from the scene was interpreted by the Khana Ratsadorn as a failure to do his duty. By not throwing his full support behind government forces, he had undermined their trust in him.[3]
In 1933, the couple left Siam for Europe where the king was due to have an eye operation inEngland. 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 abdicate his throne on 2 March 1935. He was succeeded by his nephewAnanda Mahidol. The couple settled inSurrey, first at Knowle House, then at Glen Pammant.
The couple moved again to Vane Court, the oldest house in the village of Biddenden inKent. They led a peaceful life there, gardening in the morning and the king writing his autobiography in the afternoon. In 1938 the royal couple moved again to Compton House, in the village ofWentworth inVirginia Water, Surrey. The couple had no children, but adopted the infant son of one of Prajadhipok's deceased brothers. (The stepson, PrinceJirasakdi, would later serve as aRAF fighter pilot during theBattle of Britain. He died on duty in 1942.)[4]
Due to active bombing by the GermanLuftwaffe in 1940, the couple again moved, first to a small house inDevon, and then to Lake Vyrnwy Hotel inPowys,Wales, where the former king suffered a heart attack. King Prajadhipok eventually died from heart failure on 30 May 1941.
After the King's death, the queen became more involved in politics. In December 1941the Japanese Empire invaded and occupied Thailand. The Japanese government forced the Thai government to declare war on both the United Kingdom and the United States. RegentPridi Banomyong built the anti-Japanese underground, the Free Thai Movement ("Seri Thai") network, in Thailand. TheFree Thai Movement was 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, PrinceSubhasvastiwongse Snith Svastivatana, made clear theirFree Thai sympathies and used their connections to assist like-minded students in organising a resistance movement in the UK. 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.
On the morning of 9 June 1946, the young KingAnanda Mahidol was found dead in his bed in the Baromphiman Mansion in theGrand Palace, dead from a gunshot wound to his head. In October 1946, a commission ruled that the King's death could not have been accidental, but that neither suicide nor murder was satisfactorily proved.Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent conservative and monarchist, wrote that Pridi's role in the event was he protected responsible royals, and prevented the arrest of a person[5] who destroyed the evidence.[6]: 5–6 However, when his government cannot solve the case, his political opponents quickly put the blame on him; some went so far as to branding him as the mastermind behind the assassination.[7]
Pridi's opponents composed of royalist, conservative and military camps. On 8 November 1947, army troops seized various government installations in Bangkok. The coup, led by Lieutenant GeneralPhin Choonhavan and Colonel Kat Katsongkhram, oustedThamrong's government, which is the political ally of Pridi. He spent a week hiding in Admiral Sindhu Songkhramchai's headquarters. On 20 November, he was spirited toSingapore by British and US agents.[8] The 1947 coup marked the return to power of Field MarshalPlaek Phibunsongkhram, and the end of Khana Ratsadon's role in Thai politics. (At this time, Phibun was often considered in the military camp.)
In 1948, the royalist government made a law that increase the power to control theCrown Property by themonarch as the restoration of their political power and assets, which was taken to the state property by thePeople Party from theSiamese revolution of 1932. Additionally, former Queen Rambai Barni was returned the 6 million baht that the People Party seized.[9]
The coup inadvertently led to the draft and signing of the1947 Constitution and1949 Constitution. The mostRoyalist constitutions to date, it gave the monarchy back almost all of the powers that were taken away from it by the1932 Revolution. They were similar to the constitution draft by KingPrajadhipok before the 1932.[10]
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 Adulyadej. She spent the rest of her life at Sukhothai Palace, dying in 1984 at the age of 79. She was cremated in a grandroyal funeral presided over by her nephew the king at Sanam Luang in front of the Grand Palace.
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Mugilogobius rambaiae is named in honor of Her Majesty Rambai Barni (1904-1984), the former Queen of Siam; As an interesting aside, in 1934 a water-color painting showing several life-size renderings of this goby in its natural habitat was given to her majesty.[11]
Adopted son of H R.H. The Prince and Princess of Sukhodaya; husband of H.H. Princess Mani Chirasakti, of Queen Camel, Somerset. The first Siamese in the British Isles to give his life for the Allied cause.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Rambai Barni House of Svastivatana Cadet branch of theHouse of Chakri Born: 20 December 1904 Died: 22 May 1984 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Vacant Title last held by Praphai Sucharitakul | Queen consort of Siam 1925–1935 | Vacant Title next held by Sirikit Kitiyakara |
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Princess consorts and royalconcubines are in italics. The others arequeen consorts. | ||
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