Thailand: Miniature figures of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and Queen Sunantha Kumarirat, Nam Tok Phlio (Phliw) National Park, Chanthaburi Province

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua, or Rama V (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam. His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam, immense government and social reforms, and territorial cessions to the British Empire and French Indochina. As Siam was threatened by Western expansionism, Chulalongkorn, through his policies and acts, managed to save Siam from being colonized. All his reforms were dedicated to Siam’s insurance of survival in the midst of Western colonialism, so that Chulalongkorn earned the epithet Phra Piya Maharat - The Great Beloved King.

Sunandha Kumariratana (Thai: สุนันทากุมารีรัตน์; RTGS: Sunantha Kumarirat, 10 November 1860 – 31 May 1880) was a daughter of King Mongkut (Rama IV) and Princess Consort Piam. She was a half-sister and the first queen consort (พระบรมราชเทวี) and one of four queens of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), two of which were her full-sibling younger sisters, Queen Savang Vadhana and Queen Saovabha Bhongsi.

The queen and her daughter drowned when the royal boat capsized while on the way to the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace (Summer palace). Despite the presence of many onlookers, they were forbidden on pain of death to touch the queen – not even to save her life. The grief-stricken Chulalongkorn later erected a memorial to her and his unborn child at the Bang Pa-In Palace.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia