King of Thailand marries for the fourth time

The Royal Gazette of Thailand informed today, 1 May 2019, that King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has «married General Suthida in accordance with laws and traditions» and that she is now to be known as Queen Suthida. The newspapers – Bangkok Post and The Nation – refers to the formerly Suhida Tidjai, born 3 June 1978, as «General Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya».

Queen Suditha used to be a flight attendant for Thai Airways before she was appointed commander of the then Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s household guard in August 2014. On 1 December 2016 she was appointed Commander of the Special Operations Unit of the King’s Guard and promoted to the rank of General. On 13 October 2017 she was named a Dame Grand Cross (First Class) of The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao with the title Than Phu Ying.

The king was first married to Soamsawali Kitiyakara from 1977 to 1991, secondly to Yuvadhida Polpraserth from 1994 to 1996 and thirdly to Srirasmi Suwadee from 2001 to 2014. He has 7 children – 5 sons and 2 daughters – but has yet to announce his heir in accordance with the Palace Law of Succession Section 5, cf. the Constitution of Thailand Section 20.

The coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) takes place on 4 May 2019. Vajiralongkorn succeeded to the throne on 1 December 2016, upon proclamation following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), on 13 October 2016.

Norway: Crown Prince Haakon to attend King Bhumibol of Thailand's funeral service

The Norwegian Royal Court confirmed today that Crown Prince Haakon will represent Norway at the funeral service and cremation ceremony for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) on 26 October 2017.

The death of King Bhumibol on 13 October 2016 has been marked by a one-year period of mourning. From the 25th to the 29th of October several ceremonies will take place. The actual cremation will be held on 26 October 2017, with many royals and other dignitaries in attendance. More details can be found among others on the Bangkok Post's Royal Cremation Ceremony page and Wikipedia.

Crown Prince Haakon will travel to Thailand alone. On the same day as the cremation ceremony takes place, his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit will together with Princess Astrid Mrs. Ferner attend the gala dinner for the members of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) hosted by King Harald and Queen Sonja.

Longest reigns page updated

After King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand died on 13 October 2016, the proclamation of the designated heir, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, was put on hold as the crown prince needed some time to mourn with the people.

Today, 1 December 2016, Vajiralongkorn was formally proclaimed king, and I have therefore updated the Longest reign (current monarchs) page. As I wrote on 29 October, the page will be updated again later in December after the new King of Malaysia has been installed.

Longest reigns page updated

It was on time to update my Longest reigns (current monarchs) page tonight. Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) on 13 October 2016, I had planned to wait for the formal proclamation of the designated heir, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, but as that has been put on hold for the time being, the website had to be updated.

There will soon be another change to the list, as the King of Malaysia (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah ibni Sultan Badlishah, the Sultan of Kedah, currently no. 22 on the list, will step down on 13 December 2016 to be succeeded by the Sultan of Kelantan, Muhammad V, b. 1969, following the election by the Conference of Rulers on 14 October 2016.

According to the Constution of Malaysia Article 32 third paragraph, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Head of State) is elected by the Conference of Rulers for a term of five years. The Conference of Rulers (Majlis Raja-raja) is formed by the nine rulers of the Malay states (nine out of 13 states) which have hereditary royal rulers). Normally the Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Deputy King/Head of State) is elected as the next king, and that is what happened here, as Muhammad V (Tuanku Muhammad Faris Petra) of Kelantan has served as Deputy King since 2011. The next Deputy King will be the Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, b. 1956.

This means that unless something happens in in Thailand before 13 December, the new King of Malaysia will enter the list as no. 29. while the monarchs of Tonga, Andorra (on of the Co-Princes, that is), The Netherlands, Qatar, Belgium, Spain and Saudi Arabia will go one place up (from 22nd to 28th).

By the way, no. 8, the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, b. 1945, is on the list as he still is the reigning Prince and head of state, even if Hereditary Prince Alois, b. 1968, has served as Regent since 15 August 2004. This might deserve a footnote on the Longest reigns website, but that can wait until December. Prince Hans-Adam II succeeded to the throne of the Principality of Liechtenstein on 13 November 1989 upon the death of his father, Prince Franz Josef II.

New Co-Prince of Andorra - Longest reigns website updated

François Hollande, who was elected President of France on 6 May 2012, was today, 15 May 2012, sworn in as the republic's new president. In accordance with the Andorran Constitution Article 43  Hollande also succeeded today as Co-Prince of Andorra (the other Co-Prince is the Bishop of Urgell, succeeded in 2003).

I have therefore updated my website Longest reigns today in order to reflect the event in Andorra (and France!).

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, b. 1926, who celebrates her diamond jubilee this year, is the second oldest monarch of the world today (King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, b. 1923,  tops that list), and is also in second place in the list of the longest reigns of today's monarchs. The ailing King of Thailand, Bhumibol, b. 1927, succeeded already in 1946.

Elephant statues donated by King Chulalongkorn of Siam

This bronze elephant statue is placed outside the National Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia, and was a gift from King Chulalongkorn of Siam in 1871. Photo (scanned) taken in 2004.

The bronze elephant statue placed outside the Parliament House was given to the Government of Singapore by King Chulalongkorn soon after his visit to Singapore in 1871. The statue was earlier placed in front of the Victoria Memorial Hall. Photo (scanned) taken in 2004 (by Harald Lislevand). I bought my first (and still present) digital pocket camera in Singapore, but obviously after the photo presented above was taken.

King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam visited Indonesia and Singapore in 1871 and as a token of his gratitude he gave each country a bronze elephant statue. The king toured Europe in 1897 and again in 1907, and on the last trip he visited among others Denmark and Norway. I don't think that the king left behind an elephant statue in Norway, but did he give similar statues to any other European countries he visited? Please leave behind a comment or send me an e-mail if you have any information on the matter!

References

• The Bronze Elephant Statue (Parliament House) (Streetdirectory.com)
• Visit Jakarta Museums (Travel.blogdig.net 19 June 2009)
  

The King Chulalongkorn of Siam statue, Brevik, Porsgrunn, Norway

In early August 2010 I made a short stop in the locality of Brevik in Porsgrunn municipality (county of Telemark) to see the new King Chulalongkorn of Siam statue, which had been officially unveiled by his great-great grandchild Princess Soamsawali of Thailand on Saturday 31 July 2010.

The statue was initiated by Brevik Historielag (Brevik Historical Society) and The Royal Thai Embassy to Oslo in memory of King Chulalongkorn's visit to Brevik in 1907.

References

• Kong Chulalongkorns norgesreise i 1907 (Travel Mag Thailand)
• Prinsesse Soamsawali besøker Brevik (NRK.no 27 July 2010)
  
• Prinsesse Soamsawali på besøk i Brevik (Joakim S. Enger - blogg 2 August 2010 - lots of photos!)
  
• Princess Soamsawali visits Norway (Website of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to Bangkok 20 August 2010)