HIS MAJESTY KING MONGKUT
[RAMA IV]
Excerpt from "King of
the Royal House of Chakri"
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
elephantand 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.
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
elephantand 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.
