Prince George Taw Phaya Gyi ( my, တော်ဘုရားကြီး; 6 May 1922 – 9 April 1948) was a Burmese prince and heir to the defunct throne of Burma (abolished in 1885). He was the eldest son of Princess

Myat Phaya Galay Princess Myat Phaya Galay ( my, မြတ်ဖုရားကလေး; 25 April 1887 – 3 March 1936) was a Burmese royal princess and senior member of the Royal House of Konbaung. She was the fourth daughter of the last ruling king of Burma, ...

and the grandson of

King Thibaw Thibaw Min, also Thebaw or Theebaw ( my, သီပေါ‌မင်း, ; 1 January 1859 – 19 December 1916) was the last king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and also the last Burmese monarch in the country's history. His re ...

and Queen Supayalat. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese government sought to set up Burma as a puppet kingdom within its empire with him as its puppet ruler.

Biography

Taw Phaya Gyi was born on 6 May 1922 in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

to Ko Ko Naing, a former monk and Princess

, who was the fourth daughter of King Thibaw and Chief Queen

Supayalat , image = Queen Supayalat of Burma.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession = Chief queen consort of Burma , reign = 12 April 1879 – 29 November 1885 , predecessor ...

. He studied at St Patrick’s High School Moulmein, St Paul’s School in

and graduated with a

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

from

Rangoon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

in 1945. Both the British and Japanese considered Taw Phaya Gyi as crown prince. His mother Myat Phaya Galay has been handed over the defunct throne of Burma with a contract while her mother

Supayalat , image = Queen Supayalat of Burma.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession = Chief queen consort of Burma , reign = 12 April 1879 – 29 November 1885 , predecessor ...

was still alive, meaning her eldest son was considered heir to the throne.

Puppet king and post-war

During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese government retained Burma within its empire but hoped to make Taw Phaya Gyi the country's puppet ruler, putting him under military guard and plotting to assassinate Burma's prime minister

Ba Maw Ba Maw ( my, ဘမော်, ; 8 February 1893 – 29 May 1977) was a Burmese lawyer and political leader, active during the interwar and World War II periods. Dr. Ba Maw is a descendant of the Mon Dynasty. He was the first Burma Premier ...

. Taken to

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 ...

as the war worsened for the Japanese, he was summoned back at the war's end by the Thai government and Britain. Before leaving Bangkok, Taw Phaya Gyi signed a decree as the 12th King of Konbaung to release Burmese prisoners held in Moulmein by the Japanese. After the war, he and his younger sister Princess Hteik Su Phaya Htwe opened a gymnasium. After Burma gained independence, he served as Petrol Rationing Officer with the Department of Civil Supplies. In April 1948, on his way to

Maymyo Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: ), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of ...

on a business trip, he was assassinated at Tatkon in Central Burma by Communist insurgents, who mistook him for a police officer.

Family

In 1945 he married his first wife Khin Kyi in Rangoon - she later became the first Burmese woman to earn a master's degree in sports. He had a son, Soe Win with her in 1947, whilst another son, Myo Naing, was born to his second marriage in 1948.

References

{{reflist 1922 births 1948 deaths Burmese princes University of Yangon alumni Konbaung dynasty People from Yangon Pretenders to the Burmese throne Burmese people of World War II Assassinated royalty Murdered royalty

Biography

Puppet king and post-war

Family

See also

References