Katya & The Prince of Siam

Meanwhile, Chakrabongse’s brother, King Rama VI, remained an obstinate bachelor, filling posts at his court with personable young men and remaining quite impervious to the charms of the many eligible pretty young princesses, whom his mother Queen Saowabha summoned to engage his attention when he came to see her. All was in vain. For through the ante-room where they displayed themselves in a variety of becoming poses, the King always strode, looking distant and preoccupied, as though hastening to an urgent appointment elsewhere. This behaviour sorely vexed his mother, who, according to her physician Dr Malcolm Smith, protested loudly that ‘celibacy was for the priests and no man outside a monastery should remain celibate’. The doctor rightly observed that the King’s seemingly obstinate refusal to marry ‘was the beginning of a rift between them that widened as time went on.’

In fact, the Queen Mother was not alone in her disapprobation, for it was shared – though still so early in his reign – by society in general, which, despite the reverence in which the throne was held, looked to the King to follow the example of his ancestors in marrying and fathering many children to perpetuate the Chakri Dynasty. The monarch was also considered too retiring, hardly showing himself to his people except at state and religious ceremonies. The fact that he spoke and wrote English perfectly, translating nearly a hundred plays in both these languages, including three by Shakespeare – pronounced by admirers to be ‘exact and poetical’ – meant less than nothing to his critics. Indeed his talent for writing plays himself, in which he often took the leading role, was merely deplored as being unseemly.

 

 

 

 

Prince Chakrabongse and Katya at an Air Show.

 

In person, he was rounder in face than his brothers, with a more diffident air and, even in his early thirties, inclined to be stout. He was said to be extremely shy – a shyness which took the unfortunate form of shunning the company of his princely brothers, ministers, and advisors, and despite his declared affection for Chakrabongse, seldom seeking occasion to see him, preferring to communicate with him by letter. This behaviour caused considerable bitterness among the educated inhabitants of Bangkok, particularly as it was combined with exorbitant demands made on the Treasury by his lavish style of life, and a prodigal generosity to his close circle of courtiers. Two of these, the brothers Feua and Fuen Puenbun, who were special favourites, even had authority to draw cheque in the King’s name, and as Prince Chula writes: ‘were completely devoted to the Sovereign, looking after his every mood, wish or whim, and almost knowing what he wanted before he asked for it, so that in return for their selfless service, honours and riches were showered on them’. Eventually it became almost impossible to approach to King without their mediation and assistance.

They were particularly active in the promotion of the ill-fated Wild Tiger Corps. This volunteer corps was modelled on the British Territorial Army, greatly admired by Vajiravudh during his military training at Sandhurst, and was intended to supplement the regular army and be maintained by the King’s Privy Purse. In addition to provincial regiments in which honorary colonelships were accepted by various royal princes including Chakrabongse, a Wild Tiger Brigade of Guards was raised and commanded by the King. The Brigade was issued with particularly splendid uniforms – an immediate cause of envy – and had a well-appointed clubhouse in Bangkok, open to all ranks. Here the King often lectured and mixed informally with its members. Civil servants and business men therefore hurried to join the Brigade, so as to benefit from such comparatively easy-going contact with their King.

 

 

King Rama VI and fellow officers in Wild Tiger Corps uniform.

 

At first, service in the Brigade was not open to the Regular Army – a restriction so unpopular that is was later rescinded – nor did commissions in the Regulars entitle officers to commissions in the Wild Tigers, leading to senior army and navy officers being frequently seen about the club dressed as privates in the Corps. The resulting confusion, which might well have been foreseen, led to jealousy, resentment and dissension, so that the club became a fertile breeding ground for dissatisfaction and intrigue.