'' Than Phu Ying'' Boonruen Choonhavan (née Sophot; th, บุญเรือน ชุณหะวัณ; ; 25 April 1920 – 14 August 2021) was a Thai socialite who was the wife of

Chatichai Choonhavan Chatichai Choonhavan ( th, ชาติชาย ชุณหะวัณ, , ; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prim ...

Prime Minister of Thailand The prime minister of Thailand ( th, นายกรัฐมนตรี, , ; literally 'chief minister of state') is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed si ...

and a relative of the Queen Mother Srinagarindra.

Life

Chatichai and Boonruen had two children, daughter Wanee Hongpraphas, and their son political scientist, social activist, and former senator

Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan ( th, ไกรศักดิ์ ชุณหะวัณ, born 8 October 1947 – 11 June 2020) was a Thai politician. He was a member of the Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province from 2000 till 2006. Family and education ...

. Boonruen and all her siblings were sponsored by Princess Srinagarindra and were followers when the Princess and her families traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland by boat from Penang in April 1933 with Princess

Galyani Vadhana Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Naradhiwas ( th, กัลยาณิวัฒนา; ; 6 May 1923 – 2 January 2008) was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). She w ...

, King

Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...

and Prince

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

. Later, Princess Srinagarindra arranged for her to live with a Swiss family and went on to study at a boarding school for girls. Boonruen graduated in child-rearing and accompanied Princess Srinagarindra back to Thailand in November 1938 and became a teacher at Laor Uthit Demonstration Kindergarten School Suan Dusit Institution.

Death

Boonruen died in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 14 August 2021, at the age of 101.

References

1920 births 2021 deaths

Boonruen Choonhavan ''Than Phu Ying'' Boonruen Choonhavan (née Sophot; th, บุญเรือน ชุณหะวัณ; ; 25 April 1920 – 14 August 2021) was a Thai socialite who was the wife of Chatichai Choonhavan, Prime Minister of Thailand and a r ...

Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand

Women centenarians {{Thailand-bio-stub