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Whose
reigning title was Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua, was
second son of . He was born at Bangkok on January 1, 1881.
Following the death of his elder half-brother, Crown Prince Maha
Vajirunhis, in 1895, he was appointed Crown Prince. He was
educated in England and his great love of
and poetry in both Thai and English together with his scholastic
abilities was later to manifest itseft during his reign. Among
his lasting achievements were devising a system of
transliteration of Thai into English and of translating the
entire works of Shakespeare into Thai . His passion for
traditional Thai theater and ballet has left a mass of published
scores which form the basis of the study of these
to the present day. King Vajiravudh's coronation in
on December 2, 1911 was an occasion of much splendor. Among
those present at the ceremonies were members of the royal
families of Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Japan (the
largest gathering of European royalty on the Asian Continent
either before or since). The Russian imperial jewelers, Messrs.
Carl Faberge, set up a temporary shop within the hallowed
portals of the Oriental Hotel to coincide with the festivities.
In 1916 King Vajiravudh declared war on Germany and Thai troops
fought with the Allies during the latter part of World War I. He
died in Bangkok on November 26, 1925 at the early age of 44. |
