Info on King Prajadhipok (Rama VII)

Prajadhipok was the seventh king of the Chakri dynasty. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of Siam. Prajadhipok's reign was the shortest, and probably the most controversial, in the history of the Chakri Dynasty. On the one hand, the short history of this reign is the story of the movement of great historical forces—of political aspirations, public opinion, social and political mobilisation, and economic modernisation—while, on the other hand, it is very much the story of individuals and personalities and their effect upon historical events. He is to date the only Siamese monarch to abdicate.

Prince Prajadhipok was probably one of the least likely candidates for the throne at the time he was born. His mother, Queen Saovabha, was the youngest sister of Queen Savang Vadhana, who was the mother of Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis. Vajirunhis' untimely death caused Chulalongkorn to name Prajadhipok's eldest brother, Prince Vajiravhud, the new crown prince. According to the Law later enacted by King Vajiravhud, this gave the princes born to Queen Sri Patcharindra higher priority to succession than the princes born to his father's other royal wives. In addition, because she was then mother of the crown prince, Queen Sri Patcharindra was appointed Queen Regent when King Chulalongkorn embarked on his tour of Europe. As her sister, Queen Savang Vadhana, mother of the deceased crown prince, remained just Queen Consort, Queen Sri Patcharindra's status was thus considered higher and her sons would also automatically have higher claims on that ground alone. As it turned out, none of Prajadhipok's elder brothers survived by the time King Vajiravhud died, leaving Prajadhipok as the immediate heir. Had Vajiravudh’s consort given birth to a son, that son would have succeeded his father as Rama VII; the birth of a daughter took place 2 days before Vajiravudh’s death, and so Prajadhipok succeeded the throne on 26th November 1925.

Unprepared for his new responsibilities, all Prajadhipok had in his favour was a lively intelligence, a certain diplomacy in his dealings with others, a modesty and industrious willingness to learn, and the somewhat tarnished, but still potent, magic of the crown.

The initial legacy that Prajadhipok received from his elder brother were problems of the sort that had become chronic in the Sixth Reign. The most urgent of these was the economy: the finances of the state were in chaos, the budget heavily in deficit, and the royal accounts an accountant's nightmare of debts and questionable transactions. That the rest of the world was in deep economic depression (particularly the Wall Street Crash) following First World War did not help the situation either. He was personally committed to the idea of a constitution and, given more time, would undoubtedly have granted one without external pressure.

Two months after the celebration of the sesquicentenary (150 years) of the Chakri Dynasty, a group of civil servants and military officers staged a coup d’état on 24th June 1932 and demanded constitutional government. King Prajadhipok granted a constitution to the Thai people in a simply-worded document as historic as any composed by his distinguished forefathers, and thus ended 150 years of absolute rule by Chakri Kings.

The change, however, was felt principally in Bangkok, and even there within a relatively narrow segment of the population. In 1934, King Prajadhipok went to England for medical treatment, and on 2nd March 1935, disillusioned by the undemocratic nature of the regime, he abdicated the throne. He was succeeded by his nephew Ananda Mahidol, whose father Prince Mahidol Adulyadej was a half-brother of Prajadhipok.

Following the abdication, Prajadhipok spent his remaining days with his wife Queen Ramphaiphanni in England. The couple had no children, but adopted the infant son of one of Prajadhipok's deceased brothers. He died from heart failure in Compton House on 30th May 1941 during World War II, and his ashes were brought back to Bangkok by his widow, Queen Rambhai Barni, in 1949. Written only up to the point when he was 25, the King's autobiography was left unfinished.