Not everyone knows the name of the King of Thailand. This is due to the fact that the exotic country is located quite far from our homeland, and not many compatriots are interested in the situation in it. Currently, the head of the country is Rama 9. The King of Thailand is an interesting person. Let's follow his biography in detail.
Origin
First, find out the origin of the family in which the future king of Thailand was born. Also dwell on the nuances of his birth.
The father of Rama 9, Mahidola Adulyadej, was a representative of the ruling dynasty of Thailand - the Chakri. This glorious family began to rule in Thailand since 1782, when Buddha Jodf Chulaloke, also known as Rama 1, ascended the throne. He founded the kingdom, which became known as Rattanakosin.
Mahidola Adulyadej was the son of King Chulalongkorn, also known as Rama 5. This monarch is the greatest king of Thailand. No wonder he was given the nickname "Royal Buddha." Rama 5 was able to modernize the country's governance and economy in a Western manner, but, unlike other Indochina countries, he managed to maintain the sovereignty of his state, and it did not turn into a colony.
Since Mahidola Adulyadej was not the eldest son in the family, after the death of Rama 5 in 1910, the throne of Thailand was alternately inherited by his brothers Vchiravud (Rama 6) and Prachadipok (Rama 7). The rule of the latter includes the Siamese revolution of 1932, as a result of which Thailand was transformed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. And after three years, Rama 7 completely abdicated in favor of the eldest son of Mahidol Adulyadej - Anand Mahidon.
Mahidola Adulyadej was married to Sangwan Talaphat born in 1900, who later took the name Sinakharintra. She did not come from a noble family. The couple lived for a long time abroad: in Germany, France, Switzerland, the USA. In particular, Mahidola Adulyadej received medical training in the United States, at Harvard University, at the time when the third child in the family was born - the future king of Thailand, Phumipon Adulyadej. In addition to him, Mahidol Adulyadej had another son (future Rama 8) and a daughter.
Birth of Rama 9
Phhumipon Adulyadej, and this is exactly what the name of the King of Thailand, Rama 9, sounded before accession to the throne, was born in 1927 in the American city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the family of Mahidol Adulyadej and Sangwan Talaphat.
The birthday of King Rama of Thailand 9 is December 5th. This is currently not just a regular date. National holiday is considered the king’s birthday in Thailand. As they celebrate it here, they probably do not celebrate the birthdays of monarchs anywhere in the world. Officially, it is called Father's Day and is non-working. In addition, on the birthday of the King of Thailand, numerous celebrations and themed events are constantly held. It is noteworthy that the celebration sometimes even temporarily unites political opponents.
Thus, King's Day in Thailand is a truly national holiday.
Childhood and youth
So, the future king of Thailand, Rama 5, spent the first year of his life in the USA. After completing his father's education at Harvard University, the family returned to Thailand in 1928. A year later, she suffered great grief. In 1929, due to a serious liver disease, Mahidola Adulyadej died, who at that time was only 37 years old. Thus, at the age of two, Bhumibol Adulyadej was left without a father. The whole burden of raising three children was placed on the shoulders of the mother - Sangwan Talaphat. In the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, Bhumibol Adulyadej received primary education.
After the 1932 revolution, little Phumipon Adulyadej took refuge with his family in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the insistence of his grandmother Savang Vadhana (the widow of the great Rama 5), who feared for the lives of her heirs in the light of revolutionary events. It was here that he received his secondary education. But in 1935, the King of Thailand Prachadipok abdicated in favor of his seven-year-old nephew Anand Mahidon - the elder brother of Phumipon Adulyadej. After this, Anand Mahidon took the name of Rama 8, and Phumipon Adulyadej became the de facto heir to the throne and received with his sister the highest title of the prince - Chao Fa.
But even after this, Anand Mahidon, Bhumibol Adulyadej and other family members continued to live in Switzerland. Thailand Rama 8 together with his brother and mother visited only three years after accession to the throne. All this time, the country was ruled by regents on behalf of the king. However, even after returning, Rama 8 did not actually take part in the management of Thailand, and did not become an officially crowned monarch.
Meanwhile, Phumipon Adulyadej continued his studies in Lausanne, where he began to study political science and law at a local university, which was considered a very prestigious educational institution.
Accession to the throne
The accession to the throne of Thailand by Phumipon Adulyadej is connected with very tragic circumstances. In June 1946, his brother King Rama 8 was found dead in the bedroom. The cause of death was a headshot from a firearm. To investigate this incident, a commission was created, which was able to determine that the death did not occur from an accident. But there was this murder or suicide, could not be established. Later, after the resumption of the investigation, three people were found guilty of the murder, who were executed in 1955. But many researchers consider this sentence politically motivated, and the real reasons for the death of the king have not been disclosed.
Whatever it was, but in 1946, the king of Thailand was the brother of the deceased monarch of Thailand, Phumipon Adulyadej, who took the name of Rama 9.
Early years of rule
How did Rama 9, the king of Thailand, begin to rule? It should be noted that although the power of the monarch in the country was very limited by law, but Phumipon Adulyadej, unlike his brother, from the first days of his reign showed interest in the political and economic situation in the country. True, due to the fact that at that time, Rama 9 was completing his studies in Switzerland, he still had to be away from Thailand for some time and could not take a direct part in the administration of the kingdom.
This period of the life of Rama 9 includes an accident in which he got on the Geneva-Lausanne highway in 1948. The King of Thailand received a serious back injury and numerous cuts as a result of this car accident. Photos of Phumipon Adulyadej at that time were often taken only when he was wearing dark glasses to hide injuries.
However, the injuries were gone, and after completing the training, the king returned to Thailand in 1951.
Marriage and Coronation
In April 1950, in Thailand, Rama 9 was married to Princess Sirikit. She, unlike the matter of the king himself, came from a very noble family, and her father was an ambassador. At the time of the marriage, Sirikit was not yet 18 years old, so her parents put a signature on the marriage certificate instead of the bride.
The future queen was born on August 12, 1932, and after her accession to the throne, her birthday is annually celebrated in Thailand as Mother's Day.
Shortly after the wedding, in May 1950, the king and queen were officially crowned. Since then, May 5 has been officially celebrated as Coronation Day.
Subsequent reign
After marriage, coronation and graduation, Rama 9 began to take a more active part in governing the country than before. He began to show activity both in the political life of the state and in public, and also influenced the foreign policy of Thailand.
He personally visited remote rural areas of the country to learn more about the life and needs of ordinary citizens in order to try to improve their well-being. Moreover, Phumipon Aduliadet allocates assistance for the development of regions not only at the expense of the state budget, but also from personal finances, as it is a dollar billionaire. Throughout his life, he took part in financing more than three thousand targeted projects. This won Rama 9 considerable popularity in the country.
In 1956, Bhumibol Adulyadej temporarily became a monk, as required by the Buddhist religion.
He made a lot of efforts to democratize Thai society, which was especially evident in the 90s of the XX century. Even supporting military coups, Rama 9 did this primarily so that political elites could not actually usurp power.
So, during a military coup that took place in 2006, the king supported the junta, which ousted the current government led by Thaksin Shinawatra, as it violated the norms of democracy and was implicated in corruption schemes. It should be noted that the junta did not usurp power, but already in 2007 transferred it to the legally elected government.
During the 2014 coup, Rama 9, although he did not express open support to either the putschists or the current government, as if moving away from political disputes, but, having appointed the junta leader, General Prayut Chan-Och, as the actual leader of the country, the king made it clear which side he was on .
But nevertheless, it should be noted that in recent years, due to his age and health problems, Phumipon Adulyadej is increasingly moving away from public affairs and politics, although he tries as much as possible to influence the development of Thailand for the benefit of his subjects.
Activities in other areas
King Phumipon Adulyadej is a diversified personality, and his interests cover not only the sphere of government.
The monarch was closely involved in the creation of artificial clouds, and he owns a patent in this field of research. Has Rama 9 achievements in engineering. He himself designed the sailboat, on which he has been floating ever since. But this is far from the only ship that was built according to the design of the king.
Phumipon Adulyadej is fond of photography on a professional level. It is noteworthy that on a banknote of 1000 baht it is depicted precisely with a camera.
In addition, Rama 9 at the highest level owns playing the saxophone. He also writes compositions with his own hands, which were even shown on Broadway. But this is not surprising, because his teacher was the great jazz master Benny Goodman.
One of the inventions of Phumipon Adulyadej was the creation of a formula for a new type of fuel based on a mixture of diesel fuel with palm oil.
Also known is the king’s book, which has become a bestseller in Thailand, which he devoted to describing his dog named Tongdaeng.
But this is only part of all the achievements of the King of Thailand in various fields.
A family
The royal family, in addition to Rama 9 himself and his wife Sirikit, consists of their children and grandchildren.
Maha Vachiralongkorn is the only son in the king’s family, so he is the heir to the throne. He was born in 1952, that is, two years after the marriage of Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. Graduated in the UK and on the Australian continent. He devoted his life to military service, took part in military operations against the Vietnamese partisans, has the rank of general and admiral.
He was married three times. In his first marriage, he was with his maternal cousin Soamsavali Kitiyakar. A year after the conclusion of the union, in 1978, they had a daughter, Bajrakitiyabha. But this marriage was dissolved.
For a long time, Prince Vachiralongkorn lived without an official marriage with actress Yuvadhida Polpraset. They officially formalized their relationship only in 1994. By then, they already had six children. But after two years, this union also broke up, as the prince accused his wife of treason.
In 2001, Vachiralongkorn married for the third time, a girl of noble descent Srirasmi Akharaphongpricha. In 2005, she gave him the son of Dipangkorn Rasmichoti, who, after Vachiralongkorn himself, is considered the second in line to inherit the throne. But in 2014, this marriage fell apart.
In addition to his son, King Phumipon Adulyadej has three daughters: Ubolrotanu, Sirindorn and Chulabhorn Valailak. The last of them, in 1982, married Vice Marshal Virayud Tishiasarin. In marriage, they had two daughters: Siribachudabhorn and Aditiadornkitikun. But the family life of Chulabhorn Valailak, like that of his brother, did not work out, and the marriage was dissolved. However, this princess has earned the love of the people for her achievements in the field of medical development.
These are the relatives of the king of Thailand. The monarch’s family is loved and respected by the Thai people.
general characteristics
We have studied the biography of the King of Thailand, Rama 9, and on its basis we can make some judgments about the monarch as a person.
Phumipon Adulyadej is a diversified person. The scope of his interests is simply amazing. It extends from the field of science and art to the field of international politics. A significant role in such a wide range of interests was played by the quality education that Rama 9 received at one time.
In addition, it is worth noting that the king never remained indifferent to the problems of subjects. He tries to solve them as far as possible. This characterizes him as an indifferent person. Rama 9, unlike his brother, actively influences Thai public policy, but at the same time tries to do this by democratic methods, without going beyond his authority.
Phumipon Adulyadej also has a reverent attitude towards his family.
At the same time, it is worth noting that in recent years, the king, who is currently the longest reigning monarch in the world, has worsened health problems. In particular, he suffers from a disease such as dropsy of the brain. But let's hope that Rama 9 will continue to please its subjects for a long time, ruling Thailand.