Sukhumala Marasri ( th, สุขุมาลมารศรี, , ; 10 May 1861 – 9 July 1927) was a daughter of King
Mongkut (Rama IV) and his concubine, Samli (เจ้าคุณจอมมารดาสำลี). Her given name was Princess Sukhumala Marasri (พระองค์เจ้าสุขุมาลมารศรี). She was later one of the four consorts of her half-brother, King
Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
Early life
Sukumala was born in Royal
Grand Palace on 10 May 1861. She was the 52nd child of King Mongkut. Her mother was consort Samli. She had 5 full siblings, including the famous Princess Napaborn, and from her father's side, she was a half-sister to King Chulalongkorn (later her husband), Queens
Sunanda Kumariratana,
Savang Vadhana
Sri Savarindira ( th, ศรีสวรินทิรา; , 10 September 1862 – 17 December 1955), also known as Savang Vadhana ( th, สว่างวัฒนา; ), was a consort and half-sister of Chulalongkorn (Rama V), but she was no ...
, and
Saovabha Phongsri
Queen Saovabha Phongsri ( th, เสาวภาผ่องศรี; RTGS: Saowapha PhongsiPronunciation) was an agnatic half-sister and queen of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Thailand, and mother of both King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) and King Pr ...
.
When she was ten years old, King Mongkut died and was succeeded by Sukhumala Marasri's half-brother, Prince
Chulalongkorn.
Life as queen
Sometime in her teenage years, Sukhumala became a royal wife to King Chulalongkorn. The marriage produced two children; Princess
Suddha Dibyaratana (later the Princess of Ratanakosin), who was also the first surviving Chao-Fah, a child of the sovereign which their mother is the Queen Consort or a Princess by blood, and Prince
Paribatra Sukhumbandhu
Marshal-Admiral Paribatra Sukhumbandhu, Prince of Nakhon Sawan (; Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ เจ้าฟ้าบริพัตรสุขุมพันธุ์ กรมพระนค ...
(later the Prince of Nakorn Sawan.) During her husband's reign, she served as the King's secretary and was referred to as "the
Princess Consort
Princess consort is an official title or an informal designation that is normally accorded to the wife of a sovereign prince. The title may be used for the wife of a king if the more usual designation of queen consort is not used.
More informal ...
".
After her husband died, she moved to her son's palace,
Bang Khun Phrom. During the reign of King
Vajiravudh, her nephew, he officially named her as his father's fourth queen consort, making her official title
Her Majesty Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
Sukhumala. When
Prajadhipok succeeded to the throne, he gave his father's two surviving queens consort, Savang Vadhana and Sukhumala, the title of "the Queen Aunt". In the same style, Sukhumala was preceded by Savang Vadhana, reflecting the fact that Savang Vadhana was created queen consort by Chulalongkorn before Sukhumala.
Queen Consort Sukhumala Marasri died on 9 July 1927 at the age of 66 at the Bang Khun Phrom Palace (H.R.H. Prince Paribatra Sukhumbandhu Palace). Her only surviving child, Prince
Paribatra Sukhumbandhu
Marshal-Admiral Paribatra Sukhumbandhu, Prince of Nakhon Sawan (; Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ เจ้าฟ้าบริพัตรสุขุมพันธุ์ กรมพระนค ...
, and her younger full sister, Princess Napaborn, were at her bedside.
Aftermath
In her memory, one district was named "Rajdevi" after Sukumala.
When Prahadhipok abdicated and was succeeded by his nephew,
Ananda Mahidol
Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั ...
1935, Sukumala was no longer aunt to the new king, thus she was simply referred to as Her Majesty Queen Sukumala Marasri. Unlike her younger-half sister, Savang Vadhana, who was created "the Queen Grandmother".
Her son, Prince Paribatra Sukhumbandhu was a prominent figure in Siamese politics during the later part of the absolute monarchy, often credited as the man behind King Prajadhipok's throne. The prince served as Minister of the Interior at the time of the Siamese revolution of 1932, and he was captured by the
Khana Ratsadon
The People's Party, known in Thai as Khana Ratsadon ( th, คณะราษฎร, ), was a Siamese group of military and civil officers, and later a political party, which staged a bloodless revolution against King Prajadhipok's government a ...
(the People's Party) and placed under arrest. Prajadhipok accepted the demands of the rebels and became a constitutional monarch. Prince Paribatra, however was exiled from Siam. He eventually settled and died in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, having never returned to his homeland. Mom Rajawongse
Sukhumbhand Paribatra, politician and
Governor of Bangkok
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The govern ...
is one of his grandchildren.
Sukumala's younger sister, Princess Napaborn died at the age of 94.
See also
*
Chulalongkorn
*
Sukhumbhand Paribatra
References
* Paul M. Handley, "
The King Never Smiles
''The King Never Smiles'' is an unauthorized biography of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley, a freelance journalist who lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in Thailand. It is published by Yale University Press and was ...
" Yale University Press: 2006,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukhumala Marasri
Thai queens consort
Consorts of Chulalongkorn
19th-century Thai women
19th-century Chakri dynasty
20th-century Thai women
20th-century Chakri dynasty
1861 births
1927 deaths
Thai female Phra Ong Chao
Thai princesses consort
Children of Mongkut