THE ILLUSTRIOUS CHAKRI FAMILY
| King Rama I
| King Rama II
| King Rama III
| King Rama IV
| King Rama V
| King Rama VI
| King Rama VII
| King Rama VIII
| King Rama IX
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- THE FULL FAMILY TREE OF THE CHAKRI DYNASTY is
complex and at times perplexing. Each king and queen is known by
several different names and titles, some posthumously conferred.
Many of the princes and princesses have more than one title, and
alterations can be made, not only to their rank but also to the
terms describing their relationship to the reigning monarch, which
change from reign to reign. These ranks and titles are finely
graded, revealing nuances which explain the exact rank and
relationship to the king of the individual prince or princess.
- This hierarchy of rank and title is unique to Thailand [although
a similar, but less complex system exists within the royal family
of Cambodia] and is the most elaborate system of royal rank to be
found in any country in the world. There are three distinct ranks
of prince and princess, but even within each rank there are finer
distinctions which divide the members into different sub-groups.
The three main ranks are as follows:-
- The Chao Fa This title is usually restricted to
the children of a king or queen. There are at present only five
Chao Fa living , one prince and four princesses; they include
the present Crown Prince, two daughters of His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, his sister, and the daughter
of His late Majesty King Vajiravudh [Rama VI]
. Another daughter of His present Majesty, the former
Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya, who relinquished her royal title
in 1972, was also of this rank.
- The Phra Ong Chao--there are two specific grades
within this rank, those Phra Ong Chao who have the
additional word Chao within the preamble to their title, and those
who do not :
-
[Phra Chao Vorawongse Ther] Phra Ong Chao--Prince or
Princess and Royal Highness.
-
[Phra Vorawongse Ther] Phra Ong Chao--Prince or Princess and
Highness.
-
The Phra Ong Chao nowadays are always the grandchildren of
a king--three of the present King's grandchilden are of this rank,
and the other 10 living Phra Ong Chao are all grandchildren
of King Chulalongkorn [ Rama V ], from
senior lines of descent.
- The Mom Chao--this is the lowest of the royal
ranks and the usual title of a grandchildren of a king
[except where raised to be a Phra Ong Chao]; in the case of
a great-grandchild of a king who is a Mom Chao then he or she
is the child of a Phra Ong Chao prince, who is himself of a
grandchild of a king. The Mom Chao are known in English as
Prince or Princess and Serene Highness. There are at present
some 150 Mom Chao living--53 are grandchildren or great-
grandchildren of King Chulalongkorn [Rama V], 82
are grandchildren or great-grandchildren of
King Mongkut [Rama IV], 14 are grandchildren of the last
Maha Uparaja [ or Deputy King] and one, the last surviving
grandchild of Second King Pinklao, who died
in 1866. They are for the most part elderly and in the years to
come their number will be much diminished.
In the early part of this century the total of Mom Chao was
much higher, numbering several hundred,
and including grandchildren of King Rama III,
King Rama II and even
King Rama I, as well as numberous
grandchildren of the earlier Maha Uparaja. By the end of the
century it is likely that there will only be
several dozen Mom Chao left within the Royal Family.
-
The great-grandchildren of a king do not bear royal rank but are
entitled to use the title of Mom
Rajawongse, which is not translated into English. The great-
great-grandchildren bear the title of Mom
Luang. Subsequent generations in the male line of decent from
a king have no titles, but may add the
dynastic surname of "na Ayudhya" to the surname of the branch
of the Royal Family from which they descend.
-
The Royal Family is divided into 131 different branches. Each son
of a king, or Maha Uparaja, who founded
a family, was granted a surname by King
Vajiravudh [Rama VI] - several more were granted during the
reign of his successor, King Prajadhipok [Rama
VII]. As part of the 60th birthday celebrations of
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, representatives of each branch
will gather at the Chitralada Villa
of Dusit Palace in a ceremony that has not been performed for many
years. They will be received in
audience by the King in the Dusidalai Hall and will be grouped
strictly according to the seniority of their
descent from the previous kings of the Chakri Dynasty. The task of
deciding the order of precedence is
not an easy one and assistance is given by the chairman of the
family association of the Chakri Dynasty ,
who keeps careful track of the whereabouts of each branch and its
members, ensuring that they are
informed of the gathering and at the same time checking that no
imposters lay claim to an unverified
descent. This is rare, though from time to time "pretenders" do
emerge and assume the name of some
remote line of descent of the Royal Family.
-
The names of the Kings of the Chakri Dynasty are long and complex
and take various forms. It is
customary that the sovereign's name is longer than that of anyone
else in the Kingdom and the full
royal name and title, as inscribed on a golden name plate at the
time of the coronation, is impractical
for daily use. Several different systems for naming the kings have
developed over the years. In the
reign of King Rama III it was decided that the first two kings of
the Chakri Dynasty should be accorded
a personal name. Hitherto, people had referred to these two kings
as "The King of the Foremost Reign" and "The King of the Middle
Reign." King Rama III had two large golden Buddha images
made and dedicated them to the first two kings and
decreed that they be known as King Buddha Yot Fa and
King Buddha Loet La. He himself became
King Nang Klao. His successors became King Chom
Klao [Mongkut] , King Chula Chom Klao
[Chulalongkorn] ,King Mongkut Klao (Vajiravudh)
and King Pok Klao [Prajadhipok]. Abroad and to
foreigners living within the country these
kings were known by other names - the personal name they had before
their accession - hence King Mongkut, King Chulalongkorn, King
Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok, and this custom was continued
during the two subsequent reigns with King
Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
-
One of the fascinations of the Thai system of royal rank and title
is the subtlety with which the title of
a member of the Royal House reveals an exact degree of rank. Apart
from the three distinct princely ranks
mentioned earlier there are other features of royal titles which
further define the holder's true position
in the royal hierarchy. In the titles of all princes and princesses
of Phra Ong Chao and Chao Fa rank are to
be found certain words which also indicate their relationship to the
reigning King. These form part of the
preamble to the title and in the case of the closest royal relatives
indicate the exact relationship. More distant
relatives have a word indicating to which group of princes and
princesses they belong. Thus the son of the
reigning king will be Somdetch Phra Chao Lukya Ther Chao Fa,
the daughter Somdetch Phra Chao Luk
Ther Chao Fa, the elder brother Somdetch Phra Chao Piya Ther
Chao Fa, the younger brother Somdetch
Phra Chao Nongya Ther Chao Fa, and so on. These relationship
terms change from reign to reign, with the
children of one king becoming, perhaps the elder and younger
brothers and sisters of the next king. The
system applies equally to deceased members of the Royal Family and
the late younger brother of a
reigning king will become the late uncle of his successor and his
title will be altered accordingly. There
is thus a gradual and evolving pattern of change within the system
of royal titles.
-
Another feature of the precise definition of rank can be found among
the regalia of the most senior members
of the Royal Family. When they receive their titles they are
presented with a set of regalia, which, should
their title be high enough, will include a multi-tiered royal
umbrellas, or parasol. These royal umbrella are of
different levels, usually of five, seven or nine tiers. Only a
crowned king possesses a nine-tiered umbrella
[prior to his coronation he is entitled to one of seven tiers]. The
holders of seven tier umbrellas form a
special group within the Royal Family, those whose titles contain
the words "Somdetch Phra Baromma"
and at the present time these include only four people, Her
Majesty the Queen, H.R.H. the Crown Prince,
H.R.H. the Princess Mother and princesses of Cho Fa
rank are entitled to royal umbrellas of five tiers.
These royal umbrellas reveal the rank of the holder and as such can
form part of their insignia or coats-of-arms and at their cremations
are to be found suspended above the crematorium, or above their urns at their
lyings-in-state.
-
As the Thai system of rank is so very much more complex than those
systems to be found in European
countries it is often difficult to ascribe adequate titles in
English and the other European languages. A
system has evolved gradually, beginning as early as the reign of
King Mongkut. He and his successors
took particular care in choosing the correct English words to be
used as a translation for various Thai
royal titles, and in the cases of King Chulalongkorn and
King Vajiravudh discussions took place between
themselves and members of European royal families on choosing
suitable equivalents. However, the
European languages cannot convey the degree of subtlety apparent in
the Thai system and anomalies
occur. Although the Queen is Her Majesty, the Princess Mother,
according to European custom is only
Her Royal Highness, a rank equal to those of certain princes and
princesses. In Europe the mother of a
reigning king whose father has never been king cannot be a queen
mother, as she was herself never a
queen consort and is therefore known as the princess mother. That
the present Princess Mother of
Thailand was raised to the rank of Somdetch Phra Baromma with
the right to seven levels of royal umbrellas
during the reign of her son cannot be adequately conveyed in the
English rendering of her title.
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