57 Facts About Vajiravudh

Vajiravudh was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI.

Vajiravudh ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925.

King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationalism.

Vajiravudh's reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I He had keen interests in Siamese history, archaeology, and literature, as well as economics, politics and world affairs, and founded the country's first university, Chulalongkorn University.

Vajiravudh was born on 1 January 1881 to Chulalongkorn and one of his four queens and half sister Saovabha Phongsri.

In 1888, upon coming of age, Vajiravudh received the title Krom Khun Thep Dvaravati.

Prince Vajiravudh was first educated in the royal palace in Thai and English.

In 1895, his half-brother Crown Prince Vajirunhis died and Vajiravudh was appointed the new Crown Prince of Siam.

Vajiravudh studied law and history at Christ Church, Oxford in 1899, where, coming from a royal household, he was a member of the exclusive Bullingdon Club.

Vajiravudh visited other European countries while he lived in England, including Belgium where he inspected Blegny fort.

Vajiravudh went to Berlin, Germany in May 1902 and Copenhagen, Denmark in September 1902.

Crown Prince Vajiravudh left England in October 1902 and returned to Siam in January 1903, traveling via USA and Japan.

Chulalongkorn died on 23 October 1910, and Vajiravudh succeeded his father as king of Siam.

Vajiravudh created the rank of "general" for the first time in Siam, with his uncle, Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse as the first Siamese Field Marshal.

On 11 November 1910, Vajiravudh underwent a provisional coronation ceremony, with a more lavish one planned for after the funerary rites of his father were complete.

Vajiravudh's first act following his accession to the throne was to build the Royal Pages College, subsequently renamed Vajiravudh College by King Prajadhipok to honour his brother.

The school was built instead of a royal monastery, formerly a custom of Thai kings, as King Vajiravudh deemed that there were already too many temples in Bangkok.

Vajiravudh improved Siamese healthcare systems and set up some of the earliest public hospitals in Siam, Vajira Hospital in 1912 and Chulalongkorn Hospital in 1914.

The early years of Vajiravudh's administration were largely dominated by his two uncles, Prince Damrong and Prince Devawongse, both of them Chulalongkorn's right-hand men.

Vajiravudh reformed his father's monthon system by creating the "paks" or "regions" over the administrative monthons.

In 1909, Crown Prince Vajiravudh ordered a Thai Royal Military Academy student who had had an argument with one of Vajiravudh's pages to be caned.

However, Vajiravudh rescinded the punishments and released the plotters, saying that what they did was for the sake of the kingdom.

In 1914, Vajiravudh, having determined that the act providing for the invocation of martial law, first promulgated by his father in 1907, was not consistent with modern laws of war nor convenient for the preservation of the external or internal security of the state, changed to the modern form that, with minor amendments, continues in force.

In 1915, Vajiravudh himself visited the southern provinces to oversee railway construction.

In 1916, Vajiravudh appointed his half-brother, Prince of Kamphang Phet, as the Head of the Railway Department.

Vajiravudh continued the overall royal encouragement of development of rice varieties, founding the Rangsit Rice Experiment Station in 1916.

In 1917, Vajiravudh established the Nakorn Sri Thammarat Regiment as his personal guard.

In 1918, Vajiravudh founded the Dusit Thani near Dusit Palace as an experimental site for democracy.

Vajiravudh himself acted as one of the citizens of Dusit Thani, yet the city was criticized by others as another of Vajiravudh's theatrical conceits.

On 22 July 1917 Vajiravudh declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Vajiravudh aligned Siam with the Allied Powers and expelled German and Austrian officials from the Railway Department and Siam Commercial Bank.

Vajiravudh put the properties of the Central Powers under a Siamese government protectorate.

Vajiravudh saw the war as an opportunity to create and promote Siamese nationalism.

Vajiravudh changed the Flag of Siam from the elephant banner to the tricolor banner.

King Vajiravudh is considered by some writers to be the father of Thai nationalism, which was later built upon by Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram and Sarit Dhanarajata.

Vajiravudh wrote a letter to his friend Maynard Colchester Wemyss setting out his reasons for going to war, dated 18 September 1917.

Vajiravudh described the presence of Imperial German spy activity in Bangkok, allying with business groups for economic arrangements after a German take-over of Siam.

Vajiravudh introduced the practice of using the name Rama for the Chakri kings in deference to the dynasty and following western practice, being then himself Rama VI.

In 1923, Vajiravudh announced his six principles in the governance of Pattani Province, emphasizing local freedom and tax measures.

King Vajiravudh was one of Thailand's most highly renowned artists, writing modern novels, short stories, newspaper articles, poems, plays, and journals.

Vajiravudh translated many of English literature and French literature into Thai, Among his works were translations of three Shakespeare plays: The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Romeo and Juliet.

Vajiravudh translated Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels into Thai, and created the character "Nai Thong-In" as a Siamese consulting detective, using Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin as an archetypes.

Vajiravudh translated many stories from the two epics into Thai and wrote plays inspired by Hindu literature.

In 1914 King Vajiravudh published in a Thai newspaper an article titled "Jews of the Orient".

Vajiravudh had been a king without a queen for about ten years.

However, four months later in 1921, Vajiravudh nullified the engagement and pursued Princess Vallabha's sister, Princess Lakshamilavan, whom he engaged.

In 1921, Vajiravudh married Prueang Sucharitakul, who was a daughter of Lord Suthammamontri and elevated her to Lady Sucharitsuda.

Vajiravudh then married Sucharitsuda's sister, Prabai Sucharitakul, with the title of Lady Indrani.

In 1924, Vajiravudh married Krueakaew Abhaiwongse, later renamed Suvadhana, a daughter of Lord Aphaiphubet.

Vajiravudh had only one child, a daughter with Suvadhana, Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda.

In 1924, Vajiravudh promulgated his Law of Succession, which has since become the code for Chakri dynasty successions.

However, in the case of Vajiravudh who had no sons, the throne would pass to his eldest "true" or full brother, that is, a brother who shared both the same father and mother, Queen Saovabha.

In 1924, King Vajiravudh, accompanied by Suvadhana, visited the Federated Malay States.

In 1925 Vajiravudh had to dissolve his Nakorn Sri Thammarat Regiment and merged provinces into larger units to lower maintenance costs.

Vajiravudh then announced his succession instructions: if Princess Suvadhana gave birth to a son, the throne would go to him.

Vajiravudh barred Princess Inthrasaksachi from being interred with him in the future and instead granted that right to Princess Suvadhana.

Vajiravudh glimpsed his sole daughter for the first and only time before his demise on the 26 November 1925.