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Cover
story
: 10 Oct
2004
Vol.
21 No. 13 |
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A
Tribute to Her late
Royal Highness the
PRINCESS MOTHER |
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By
Saranya Suksawat
Photos by royal courtesy |
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late Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra the
Princess Mother passed away nine years ago. However,
the whole Thai nation today still cherish the
memory of her due to her lifelong noble attributes
and the many meritorious deeds she had done to
ensure the well-being of the people, especially
those in remote areas. |
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In commemoration of the late Princess Mother's
104th birthday anniversary on 21 October 2004,
Thaiways presents to you a brief story of her
noble life and deeds as follows: |
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HRH Prince Mahidol and HRH Princess Srinagarindra. |
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A
Commoner Adopted by the Queen
Her Royal Highness, whose full title is Somdej
Phra Srinagarindra Boromarajajonani, is popularly
called Somdej Ya, meaning the Royal Grandma. She
was born on 21 October 1900 as Miss Sangwan Talapad
to a goldsmith's family in Nonthaburi on the northern
outskirts of Bangkok. As she lost both her parents
at a young age, she was taken care of by a lady-in-waiting
at the Palace and then was adopted by Queen Sawang
Vadhana of King Rama V as a daughter. She received
her elementary education and training as a nurse
in this country. At the age of 17, she was sent
to the United States to study English at Emerson
School in Berkeley, California. During her stay
there, she attended the Sunday School at a local
church in order to mix with people from different
walks of life.
The next year, she went to Hartford, Connecticut,
to further her study at the Northwest School,
where she met her future husband HRH Prince Mahidol
of Songkhla, a son of King Chulalongkorn (Rama
V) and younger half-brother of King Vajiravudh
(Rama VI) and King Prajadhipok (Rama VII).
Meeting Prince Mahidol in US
At that time, Prince Mahidol was a student of
medicine at Harvard University at Cambridge, Mass.,
majoring in public health. As the Prince was concerned
with the welfare of his fellow Siamese students
in the United States, he often spent his free
time paying them visits. It was during one such
visit that a historic encounter took place. The
pretty, shapely and ever cheerful young lady immediately
attracted the attention of the Prince.
In 1919, she moved to Cambridge, Mass., to study
at a school run by Edith Johnson, where she met
her lifelong friend Betty Dumaine. She went to
visit Dumaine at her country house in Concord
every weekend, sometimes accompanied by Prince
Mahidol. |
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Her late Royal
Highness Princess Srinagarindra with her three
royal children (from left): Prince Ananda Mahidol
(King Rama VIII), Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej
(King Rama IX) and Princess Galyani Vadhana
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This couple of sweethearts came
back to Bangkok together and got married in
1920. Then they went to various parts of the
kingdom to study the hygienic conditions and
medical facilities.
In 1923, when they were in London, the Princess
gave birth to her first child, HRH Princess
Galyani Vadhana at a small house in Lexington
Gardens, London. Two years later in Heidelberg,
Germany, Prince Ananda Mahidol (later King Rama
VIII) was born.
During their stay in London from 1922 to 1923,
the Ministry of Education in Bangkok asked the
Prince to help contact the Rockefeller Foundation
in order to engage the services of professors
of medicine and nursing in setting up a modern
medical college in Siam. The Prince carried
out his mission with success and the first institute
of medicine and nursing of this country was
created.
Then the Prince went back to the United States
to continue his study of medicine at Harvard.
The Princess and their two young children went
with him. The Princess also attended a special
medical course at Simmon's College.
It was during this period on 5 December 1927
that a third child was added to the family,
who was to become the 9th ruler of the Chakri
House -- King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In that same
year, Prince Mahidol obtained his M.D. degree
at Harvard.
The next year, the family returned to Bangkok.
The Prince went to Chiang Mai to work in an
American missionary hospital and to engage in
the treatment of lepers in the North. Owing
to this great contributions to the improvement
of public health and the development of medical
science in this country, he is known as the
"Father of Modern Medicine of Thailand".
Unfortunately, the Prince became ill due to
overwork and had to come back to Bangkok. He
had promised to go to work in Chiang Mai again.
But he could never fulfil his wish because he
soon succumbed to the illness. It was on 24
September 1929.
Moving to Switzerland
with Children
Four years after the untimely death of the Prince,
the Princess obtained the permission of King
Prajadhipok and Queen Sawang Vadhana and took
her children to Lausanne, Switzerland, where
she settled down to bring up her children and
to learn to speak French. She was in residence
there until 1988 with frequent trips back home
to visit her fellow countrymen, especially those
living in the remote areas.
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The young Prince
Bhumibol (now King Rama IX)
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Princess Mother was extraordinary not only because
of her family relationships with the Royal House,
but also because of her great compassion for the
poor and her remarkable ability to nurture her
children, two of whom later became most beloved
kings. |
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The Princess
Mother was always
concerned for the welfare of
those serving in the Border Patrol
Police units and their families.
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When
Prince Mahidol died, the Princess was only 29
years old and was left with three young children
aged 6,4 and 2. They were 10, 8 and 6 when they
went to take residence in Switzerland in 1933.
The upbringing of the three children was indeed
a formidable task for their widowed mother, although
at that time the young princes were not considered
likely successors to the throne, since King Prajadhipok
was still young and might very well have his own
sons.
However, King Prajadhipok abdicated in 1935 without
an heir and Prince Ananda Mahidol became King
at the age of 10. He died unexpectedly in 1946,
still too young to do much for his country. Yet
he was loved by his people of all classes as a
well-groomed young monarch. |
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The Princess
Mother and King Bhumibol
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His
brother Prince Bhumibol succeeded him at the age
of 19. Now for 58 years the King has reigned over
the Kingdom with diligence, benevolence and wisdom,
which has earned him a good reputation as a model
King and probably the hardest-working monarch
in the world, too.
This has been possible largely due to the strong
influence exerted by the Princess Mother during
the King's childhood, which made him a man of
industry, austerity, self-sacrifice, compassion
and high sense of duty.
Work for the Welfare
of the Poor
The Princess Mother's deep sympathy for the poor
was shown by her frequent visits to remote border
areas and the three foundations set up under her
royal patronage -- the Mae Fah Luang Foundation
(originally the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation),
the Foundation for the Welfare of Border Patrol
Police and the Medical Volunteer Foundation. |
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The Princess Mother paid special
attention to children in remote areas, especially
on their education.
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Princess Mother had been very active in helping
the King to take good care of his subjects who
lived in poverty. Even in her late eighties, she
was still fit to make strenuous trips, often accompanied
by Princess Galyani, to backward places by car,
by boat or by helicopter, to see to the needs
of the poor. |
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The
Medical Volunteer Foundation (formerly the Volunteer
Flying Doctor Foundation) provides the largest
volunteer medical service ever operated in Thailand.
Established in 1969, the Foundation pioneered
the development of free medical care for people
in distant areas.
The Princess Mother had also been concerned for
the welfare of those serving in the Border Patrol
Police units and their families. She set up the
Foundation for the Welfare of Border Patrol Police
in 1967, giving out of her own purse the equivalent
of US$ 57,800 as an initial working fund. The
fund had grown substantially due to public contributions
and had played an important role in the family
life of those in the patrol units.
The Thai Hill-Crafts Foundation was set up in
1972 (the name was changed to the Mae Fah Luang
Foundation on 7 June 1985) with the Princess Mother
as its Royal Honorary Patron to promote the handicraft
skills of the hill people and to provide market
outlets for their products. As a result, the living
conditions of these people are better than ever
before. |
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Whenever the Princess Mother
had even a
little free time, Her Royal Highness
would produce handmade crafts like
cross-stitch, sculpturing and painting on cups.
Some of her crafts were taken for sale to raise
money for charity.
(By courtesy of Mae Fah Luang
Foundation)
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An Eager Learner All Her Life
The Princess Mother was an eager learner all her
life. She was a keen student of botany, having
studied this subject in a correspondence course
operated by Columbia University of New York. She
studied Sanskrit and Pali in addition to English
and French. She was also a profound scholar of
Buddhism and a faithful follower of the Buddha's
teachings.
In recognition of the Princess Mother's contributions
to the improvement of the people's livelihood,
the Thai government issued a set of commemorative
coins and medals in gold, silver and nickel on
the occasion of Her Royal Highness's 84th birthday
in 1984.
It is a matter of deep regret for the people of
the country in general and for the hilltribes
and the poor in particular, that they lost their
beloved Mae Fah Luang. But Her Royal Highness'
boundless love for the people and untiring efforts
in welfare work had left a memory that will live
in their hearts forever.
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