Cheyenne record., 1920-08-12
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>HE recent death, of his royal high
ness. Chao Fa Chrnkrabongs PhlVa-
nnrth. Prince Phitsnnulok. the heir
presumptve to the Sinmese throne
. directs attention to the fact that
,s<NS& King Rama vi is the first bachelor
NLSS9M king of Siam In $500 years ANU
Ek| SM what Is more. II is internatiohai
W fHH diplomatic gossip that he is waiting
NX GHT to win nm American woman to snare
MT1pzNHN his throne. One reason may he mat
V HMS$R King Rama has seen Amer''a"
gu w beauties in twenty states ot u'e
Union.
Rama W. known to his people as Sen!et
phrn Paraiunir Malm Vajiruvudh MOngkit krno'
Somipt 1'h, l,anu Thibodi VI. is one of the most
interesting monarch. writes Frederick Dean. NJ.
A.. In the New York Tribune. The first bachelor
that ever sat upon the Sumese throne. he Is said
10 he waiting for American girl to share MS
throne. The kings grandfather. Mnha Mongkut
used to say that he desircd-and hnd-n member
Of every family of note in his Kingdom IN MS
"iOusehOld" No outsider knew Just how
many wives he did have His son. Mnha Chuh-
lorg,Orn. the father of the present king. had three
wives the day before he wns made crown
prnce On that day he married hinety-seven
ar.re make up the complement OF one hundred
which the proper number Of wives for the
crown prince TO have. When he died-ten years
ae"-he had between 1000 and 5000. When his
sOn. the then crown prince. returned from his long
stay in EurOpe-he had spent third of his life
IN England. France. Germany and Russia. and had
made frequent visits to Belgium. Itnly and Spain
Norway. Sweden and the NetherIands-his father
presented him with collection OF Siamese
beauties saying:
OF the beauties of the court for you to start light
housekeeping with, and to these you may add as
you ft."
But thu young prince. much to the discomfort
OF his royal father told the monarch that he would
have none of this wholesale marriage business.
and added that when he was ready he would marry
zone wife. and she shall he the queen of my heart
as well the queen OF my realm His rather
took the decision of his son very much to heart
and some have gone so far as to say that his boys
stub Orn adherence his word helped to end his
royal fathers life. When his mnjesty Maha
Vajiravudr-knOwn thereafter Rama VI
came to the throne. there was no queen and
no heir, n crown prince or. as they say In SIAM
an heir presumptive. had to be chosen. and the
IoI naturally fell to the late Prince Phitsanulck
VIII" brother OF the king by the same
Inother .rn
Siam is n polygnmous country. According to
SIamese law n man may have many wives as
he can support. The households OF royalty ran
sa,o almost cosntless numbers. Old King MOhs-
kut. the grandfather of the present monarch. used
TO SAY:
~ like large families. l have eighty-six
children"
The present king has something like twenty
half brothers and any quantity Of halfsisters. In
doing away with the royal harem his majesty
struck a blow Mt of the Oldest and most fundn-
mental customs OF the country. And II he
chooses to step out OF the beaten track and marry
n foreigner he will he carrying out but one more
Of his unexpected reforms for which he has been
noted ever since he came to the throne.
Rama vi In remarkable man In many re-
spects At the age OF twelve he was sent to
England. where he fitted into the foreign school
regime In less than six months. He played foot
hall at Rugby. learned to fence. ride and swim:
entered into tournaments of golf and tennis. hirted
and wrote love lyrics Later: he went to Hedel-
nerr where he crossed swords with the daredevfis
and drank and sang his way into the hearts or his
fellow workers. Returning to England l'e entered
Christ college Oxford where on graduation he
took the first prize from seven "f the brnin-
Mt az Rr1tishers. md then went to Paris. where
Ae wrote play thsf was produced at the Comefie
vr.ocssse: he returned Germany and wrote his
eN..,. for his Doctors degree In German. and.
amer Waiting every court in Europe returned
nome by way Of America. where he stopped long
~oo~Gh to pay sse president % extended visit .Sd