Galyani Vadhana
Princess Galyani Vadhana , Princess of Narathiwat ( Thai : กัลยา ณิ วัฒนา , RTGS : Kanlayani Watthana, pronunciation : [ kanláʔjaːníʔ wáttʰáʔnaː ]; * May 6, 1923 in London ; † January 2, 2008 in Bangkok ), was a member of the Thai royal family and the only sister of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) . Its formal name and title was Somdet Phra Chao Phinang Thoe Chao Fa Galyani Vadhana Kromma Luang Narathiwat Ratchanakharin ( สมเด็จ พระเจ้า พี่ นาง เธอ เจ้าฟ้า กัลยา ณิ วัฒนา กรม หลวง นราธิวาส ราช นครินทร์ , pronunciation: [ Somdet pʰráʔt͡ɕâw pʰîːnaːŋtʰɤː t͡ɕâwfáː kanláʔjaːníʔ wáttʰáʔnaː krommáʔlŭaŋ náʔraːtʰíʔwâːt râːtt͡ɕʰáʔnáʔkʰáʔrin ], translated for example: Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Narathiwat).
biography
youth
Galyani Vadhana was born in 1923 as the first child of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej , Prince of Songkhla, and his middle-class wife Mom Sangwal (who later became Princess Mother Srinagarindra ). Her father was one of the highest ranking sons of the late King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and brother of the then King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), but was considered far from the line of succession. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in health sciences, his parents traveled around different countries, and Galyani was born in London. In her British birth certificate, the simple name May Songkla was first entered, only a little later her uncle, the king, gave her the name and title Mom Chao (the third highest princess rank) Galyani Vadhana Mahidol. The family then lived temporarily in Heidelberg, Germany (where her brother Ananda Mahidol was born) and in Cambridge (Massachusetts) in America , where the father studied medicine and the second brother Bhumibol Adulyadej was born. In 1927 her uncle Prajadhipok (Rama VII.), Who had meanwhile become king, gave her the higher princess title Phra Worawongthoe Phra-ongchao . In 1928 the family returned to Bangkok, and the father died a year later.
In 1933 the mother and the three children moved to Switzerland, where they spent the next 12 years. Nothing changed about that when the childless King Prajadhipok abdicated in 1935 and Galyani's 9-year-old brother Ananda Mahidol was appointed the new King Rama VIII. As the king's sister, however, she rose to the highest princess rank, Chao Fa . In Lausanne, she visited the girls' high school in the city (Ecole supérieure de jeunes filles) , where she took German and Latin, later they moved to the International School of Geneva, where she graduated as valedictorian. In 1942 she enrolled at the University of Lausanne , where she studied chemistry, social sciences and education. In 1948 she received her diploma in chemistry.
Family life
During the Second World War, the princess married in 1944 the civil colonel Aram Rattanakun Seriroengrit (Thai: อร่าม รัตน กุล เสรี เริง ฤทธิ์ ), Thai military attaché in Switzerland and son of the general and Minister of Transport Charun Rattanakun Seriroengrit . Due to the inappropriate marriage, she initially lost her royal title. In 1945 they became the parents of a daughter, Than Phuying Dhasanawalaya Sornsongkram (Thai: ทัศนา วลัย ศร สงคราม ). In 1950 the couple divorced, Galyani returned to Thailand and was put back in the princess state by her youngest brother Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), who had meanwhile been crowned king. From 1952 to 1967 she taught French language, literature and culture at Chulalongkorn University . Galyani Vadhana was married to her second cousin, Prince Varananda Dhavaj (Thai: พระ วร วงศ์ เธอ พระองค์เจ้า ว รา นนท์ ธวัช ), who was also divorced and who died in 1990.
Working as a philanthropist
Projects in the fields of art and sport were promoted under the supervision of the princess. The princess was a patron of various foundations for classical music. As she spent her studies in Switzerland, she spoke fluent German and French. She wrote books and poetry and translated some French books into Thai.
Her brother, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, gave Princess Galyani Vadhana on May 6, 1995 the title of Krommaluang Narathiwat Ratchanakharin , which means “Princess of Narathiwat”. In the period that followed, several public institutions in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat were named after her, including the Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Hospital and the Princess of Naradhiwas University . In addition, since 1996, a 5-kilometer, eight-lane main road in the Bang Rak , Sathon and Yan Nawa districts of Bangkok has been named Thanon Narathiwat Ratchanakharin ( Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road ) in her honor .
Sickness and death
In June 2007, the princess was taken to Siriraj Hospital , where she was diagnosed with cancer. In October, doctors reported that she had suffered a heart attack in her left brain. She died on January 2, 2008 at 2.54 a.m. in Siriraj Hospital. For the entire palace, all employees of the court and all civil servants, King Bhumibol Adulyadej ordered a hundred days of mourning from the day of death . The flags on all public buildings were hoisted at half mast for two weeks. The Home Office asked all entertainment venues to suspend their programs for 15 days.
Funeral service
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It is estimated that the cremation celebrations for Princess Galyani cost 300 million baht (about six million euros). It was the first state funeral since her mother Srinagarindra died in 1996. During the reign of King Bhumibol, which lasted 70 years until his death on October 13, 2016, a state funeral was held only four times.
The crematorium was a 40 meter high building in traditional Thai style, which is supposed to be reminiscent of Mount Meru , the axis of the world. It was erected on the Sanam Luang in seven months together with numerous pavilions and decorated with flowers, garlands and statues of mythological beings. After the celebrations, all the buildings were demolished.
The funeral ceremonies of the princess gave a rare glimpse into the traditions of the House of Chakri , which date back to the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom , but whose origins can be found in Hindu India about 1000 years ago, when kings were still for reincarnations or descendants of Deities were held.
The official funeral ceremonies began on Friday, November 14th, 2008 in the Grand Palace in Bangkok and ended on November 19th, 2008 after the ashes of Princess Galyani were buried in the royal tomb at Wat Ratchabopit near the palace.
On Saturday, the remains of the princess were escorted in three large processions from the Phra Thinang Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall in the Grand Palace, where she had been laid out since her death, to the crematorium on Sanam Luang . In the first procession, 668 soldiers brought the sandalwood urn from a side entrance of the Grand Palace to Thanon Sanam Chai ( Sanam Chai Street ). There the urn was transferred to a golden, historic ceremonial float, which bears the name Phra Maha Phichai Ratcharot and weighs around 14 tons. The carriage was then accompanied in the second procession by a total of 2,746 soldiers, musicians, drummers, umbrella-bearers and brahmins to the Sanam Luang. With the last procession, 373 men brought the urn from the edge of the Sanam Luang to the royal crematorium after three ceremonial circling.
- The various military departments in the processions
Royal Thai Army Band in Guard Uniform
The Royal Guard
The Royal Guard
The Royal Guard
The actual cremation began at around 10 p.m. King Bhumibol together with Queen Sirikit first donated saffron-colored robes to 30 monks who had recited Buddhist sutras during the previous celebrations . From the Royal Pavilion, they presided over the ceremony performed by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in the crematorium while ten monks recited sutras. At the same time, similar celebrations were held across the country, often held in royal temples . Thousands of flowers made of fragrant sandalwood were symbolically burned.
On Sunday, November 16, 2008, under the chairmanship of the King and Queen, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn filled the golden urn with the royal ashes and relics. In another procession, the urn, accompanied by 822 soldiers, musicians and Brahmins, was escorted from the crematorium to the Great Palace. In the Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall she is laid out again on a throne.
In the following days, various secular and religious ceremonies will be held in the throne hall before the golden urn was brought in procession to Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram on the afternoon of November 19th . King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit then buried the urn in the local royal cemetery in the Rangsi Vadhana mausoleum.
literature
- HG Quadritch Wales: Siamese State Ceremonies . London 1931, Reprint by Curzon Press, Richmond 1992, ISBN 0-7007-0269-5 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Paul M. Handley: The King Never Smiles. A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej , Yale University Press, New Haven 2006, ISBN 0-300-10682-3 , p. 107.
- ↑ Description of the Royal Crematorium ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Last accessed on November 19, 2008
- ↑ Ancient Royal Traditions ( Memento of March 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), last accessed on March 7, 2014.
- ↑ Description of the royal urns ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Last accessed on November 19, 2008
- ↑ Course of the individual processions ( Memento of March 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Description of the ceremonial wagon ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) last accessed on November 19, 2008
- ↑ Description of the ceremonies on Sunday ( Memento from March 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Brief description of the Rangsi Vadhana Memorial ( Memento of March 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- อัลบั้ม ภาพ พระ เมรุ ของ อ. ช้างเผือก (Photo gallery, last accessed March 7, 2014)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Galyani Vadhana |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Thai noblewoman, member of the Thai royal family |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London , UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 2, 2008 |
| Place of death | Bangkok , Thailand |