RAMA 1st  (1737-1809)

Born on March 20th 1737 in Ayuttaya, Thong Duang was the son of an Ayuttaya Kingdom noble man. Following his ruin in 1767, he joigned king Phya Taksin troups under Chao Phraya Chakri’s name. General in the Thai army, he conquered Vientiane in 1778, placing the country under King  Taksin’s yoke. In 1782, King Phya Taksin was murdered and on 6 April same year, Chao Phraya Chakri, than aged  45 went into power and founded Chakri Dynasty, actually reigning in Thailand. The new King took the Phra Yot Fa name. He moved the capital, then Thonburi towards the other bank of Chao Phraya river and Bangkok became the new kingdom’s capital. During his reign the Big Palace where the emerald Buddha is located, was constructed. He reigned till his death on September 1809 7th, at the age of 73. He became posthumously Rama the 1st (see Rama III section)

RAMA II  (1768-1824)

Loet La, RAMA I son, came to the throne in September 1809, after his father’s death and reigned till 1994 July 21st. He will become posthumously RAMA II  (See  RAMA III). He got 73 kids. During his reign, Thailand became a south eastern Asia important power. At his time began the settling of westerners in the region: in 1785, Brits occupied Penang and in 1819 they created Singapore.

RAMA III (1788-1851)

RAMA II’s son, Phra Nang Klao reigned from July 1824 21st till April 1851 2nd. This King created the name of the dynasty still used today. This is how Phra Yot Fa and Loet La received posthumously the RAMA 1st and RAMA II name.  Phra Nang Klao took the RAMA III name. During his reign, he developed commerce with China and through an American missionary called James Low, introduced the first press in Thai language. Phra Nang Klao didn’t marry and had no child. When he died on 1851 April 2nd, his half-brother came on the throne.

RAMA IV (1804-1868)

Phra Chom Klao, also called Mongkut, was Phra Nang Klao’ half brother and the most erudite king of the dynasty. He had been a Buddhist monk for 27 years and in this period learned Sanskrit, Pali, Latin and English. He reigned from April 1851 2nd till his half-brother’s death on October 1868 1st, due to malaria. His foreign languages knowledge allowed him to easily establish relations with the West, but escaping colonization as a lot of others countries of the region. He signed a lot of commercial agreements with European countries and modernized education, inspiring himself from European systems.

RAMA V (1853-1910)

Chulalongkorn, RAMA IV  eldest son, reigned from  October 1868 1st till October 1910 23rd. He proceeded with the reforms his father had initiated and modernized administration and justice. He organized postal services (1885), railways (1893), created the first university, the first administration Military and naval schools. Banknotes were introduced in 1902 and decimal system was imposed in 1908. But he is mainly known as the one who abolished slavery and forced labor: slavery was abolished in Thailand on March 1895 31st. He managed like his father to avoid European colonization but at the cost of the loss of part of the territory: Lao and Cambodia given to French Indochina as well as parts of lands given to Burma, English at that time. Under his reign was also imposed by royal decree the obligation of family name : Before his reign the first name only, allowed to differentiate people. He died on October 1910 23rd after a 42 years long reign and after having had 77 children with his 36 wives. It is the grandfather of current King Rama IX.
King Chulalongkorn was very much beloved by Thais when alive, as he had taken a lot of social measures. This thankfulness was shown by a practically canonization and this King is still nowadays very much worshipped and statues of this King can be found all over the Kingdom. 23rd October, his death birthday is a public holiday.
Rama V is also known in western countries as a student of the English nurse Anna Leonowens, who had been in fact hired as English teacher for Rama IV’s children for  a period of 5 years. Leonowens memories (which inspired the movie Anna and the King) are very far from historical reality.

RAMA VI (1881-1925)

Second RAMA V son, Vajiravudh also called Mongkut Klao reigned from October 1910 23rd till November 1925 26th. He grew up in England and studied in Oxford University. Lots of educational reforms like mandatory school were made during his reign, during which the first coup took also place: in 1912, officers tried without success to overthrow monarchy. In 1918, he sent 1300 men to fight in France, proving his support to Allied. He died on 1925 November 26th at the age of 44 and after only 15 years of reign. He got only one daughter, born only 2 hours before he died.

RAMA VII (1893-1941)

Prajadhipok, also called Pokklao, youngest RAMA V’s son, came to the throne in 1925 when his brother expired. King Prajadhipok’s reign was one of the shortest and most controversial in Chakri dynasty history. The short story of his reign is also the one of huge number of political and social changes and of economical modernization of Thailand. In 1932, a successful coup abolished absolute monarchy to settle a British type of constitutional monarchy. In 1934, the King forbids polygamy. On March 1935 2nd he abdicated without letting any successor and found shelter in England where he expired on May 1941 30.

RAMA VIII (1925-1946)

Ananda Mahidol, King of current Thailand King and nephew of King RAMA VII was called by government to succeed his uncle. So was he crowned on March 1935 2nd at the age of 10. But his reign really began in 1945 when he came back from Switzerland where he was studying with his brother Bhumipol and his elderly sister. But his reign was very short as he expired on 1946 June 9th in unclear circumstances.

RAMA IX (1927- )

Bhumipol Adulyadej was crowned on 1946 June 9th, becoming the 9th King of Chakri dynasty. It is the current Thailand’s King.

Chakri Dynasty