HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Chula Chakrabongse ( th, จุลจักรพงษ์; ; 28 March 1908 – 30 December 1963), was a member of the family of the
Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of th ...
of Thailand and of the House of Chakkraphong. He was the only child of Prince
Chakrabongse Bhuvanath Field Marshal Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, the Prince of Bishnulok ( th, จักรพงษ์ภูวนาถ; ; 3 March 1883 – 13 June 1920), was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn and the fourth child of Queen Sri Bajarindra. Biography ...
and his Ukrainian wife
Catherine Desnitski Catherine Desnitski ( ua, Катерина Десницька) (27 April 1886 – 3 January 1960) was a Russian noblewoman, a participant in the Russo-Japanese War and the holder of the Cross of St. George (1904). She was the wife of the Siamese ...
(later Mom Catherine Na Phitsanulok). He was a grandson of King
Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...
.


Early life

Prince Chula Chakrabongse was born on 28 March 1908 in
Paruskavan Palace Paruskavan Palace (Thai วังปารุสกวัน) is a historic mansion in Bangkok. The house was built for King Chulalongkorn's son, Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath and his Ukrainian wife ( Kateryna Desnytska or Catherine Desnitski), ...
,
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populatio ...
, with the title
Mom Chao The precedence of Thai royalty follows a system of ranks known as ''thanandon'' ( th, ฐานันดร), which are accompanied by royal titles. The Sovereign There are two styles which can be used for a king in ordinary speech, depending on ...
(''His Serene Highness''). Saovabha Phongsri, his grandmother, gave him the name ''Phongchak'' (พงษ์จักร; ). Later his uncle,
King Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his effor ...
, raised him the higher rank of ''Phra Chao Worawong Thoe Phra Ong Chao'' (''His Royal Highness'' Prince) and changed his name to ''Chunlachakkraphong''. Palace officials affectionately called him "the Little Prince" ( ''Than Phraong Nu''). When very young, Prince Chula was sent to study in the United Kingdom, where he spent his teenage years, attending Harrow School. He graduated with Bachelor and Master from
Trinity College, University of Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. T ...
. There is a granite drinking bowl at Mitchem’s Corner in Cambridge, donated in 1934 in memory of Prince Chula’s dog called Tony.


Later life

In 1938 he married Elizabeth Hunter, an English woman (known as Lisba). Their daughter, Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabhongse, was born in 1956. They lived at
Tredethy Tredethy is a house and estate in the civil parish of St Mabyn, Cornwall, UK, at Grid reference SX 06 71. It occupies seven acres and is one of a number of small manor houses in the parish all built in the 16th and 17th centuries. The house was e ...
,
St Mabyn St Mabyn ( kw, S. Mabon) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated three miles (5 km) east of Wadebridge. The parish includes a hamlet called Longstone to the east and many small manor hous ...
, in Cornwall, in the 1940s and 1950s. When Prince Chula's cousin Prince
Birabongse Bhanudej Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ( th, พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his ''nom de course'' B. Bira, was a member of the Thai royal ...
("B. Bira") went to England in 1927, Chula was supervising a racing team called '' White Mouse Racing''. Prince Bira decided to drive for him. In 1936 Chula's White Mouse team purchased an ERA for Bira, and he quickly became one of the leading exponents of this class of international racing. Bira's partnership with Chula ended in late 1948. Prince Chula was the author of thirteen books, including a history of the Chakri Dynasty, a biography about the race-car driver
Richard Seaman Richard John Beattie Seaman (4 February 1913 – 25 June 1939) was a British Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for the Mercedes-Benz team from 1937 to 1939 in the Mercedes-Benz W125 and W154 cars, winning the 1938 German Grand Prix. He died ...
and an autobiography. One notable book Prince Chula wrote in 1935, “Wheels At Speed,” recorded his cousin Bira’s first try as a race-car driver. The book was originally intended as a book for only friends and family, but after a few copies went public, interest in the book, increased. Publishers G. T. Foulis re-issued the book ten years after it was first written. MG aficionados will enjoy Wheels at Speed. Prince Chula died of cancer in 1963 at the age of 55.


Honours


Thai

* Knight of The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (19 February 1933) * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of The Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Order of the White Elephant * Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Order of the Crown of Thailand * King Rama VI Royal Cypher Medal, Third Class * King Rama VII Royal Cypher Medal, First Class * King Rama VIII Royal Cypher Medal, First Class * King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal, First Class


Foreign

* Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion ( Czechoslovakia, 20 January 1938) *
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
( United Kingdom, 2 February 1938) * Associate Officer Brother of the Order of St John ( United Kingdom, 15 January 1960)


Works

; Autobiography * * ; Other works * * * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chula Chakrabongse 1908 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Thai historians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Chakrabongse family Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao People educated at Harrow School Thai male Mom Chao Thai male Phra Ong Chao Thai people of Ukrainian descent 20th-century Chakri dynasty