The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-08-20
fNG 90 0ZzH


Rama VI known to his own people as Semcet
Phra ParamnGr Maha yajravudh Mongkut krao'
Somdet Phra Rama Thbodi 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 Siamese throne he Is said
to be waiting for an American girl to share his
throne The kings grandfather, Maha Mongkut,
used to say that he desred-and had-a member
of every family of note In his kingdom in ms
"household' No outsider ever knew just how
many wives he did have. His son. Maha Chula-
longkorn the father of the present king had three
wives on the day before he made crown
prince On that day he married ninety-seven
more to make up the complement of one hundred,
which was the proper number Of wives for the
prince to have. When he died-ten years
ago-he had between 1000 and 5000. When his
son, the then 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, Italy and Spain,
Norway Sweden and the Netherands-hs father
presented him with n collection of Samese
beauties, saying.
'My son. here are something hundred
the beauties of the court for you to start light
housekeeping WITH and to these you may add as
you see fit"
But the 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 be the queen of my heart
as well as the queen Of my realm" His father
took the decision of his very much to heart
and some have gone so far as to say that his boys
stubL orn adherence to his word helped to end his
royal fathers life. When his majesty Maha
vajravudh-known thereafter as Rama VI
came to the throne. as there was no queen and
no heir, crown prince, or, as they say In Siam,
an heir presumptive, had to be chosen. and the
lot naturally fell to the late Prince Phitsanuck,
who was a brother OF the king by the same
mother
Siam is a polygamous country. According to
SIamese law man may have as many wives as
he can support. The households of royalty ran
into almost countless numbers. Old King Mong-
kut. the grandfather of the present monarch used
to say:
II like large families have eighty-six
children"
The present king has something like twenty
half-brothers and any quantity of hnlf-sisters. In
doing away with the royal harem his majesty
struck blow at one of the oldest and most funda-
mental customs OF the country. And II he
chooses to step out of the beaten track and marry
foreigner he will be carrying out but one more
of his unexpected reforms, for which he has been
noted ever since he came to the throne.
Rama VI Is remarkable man in many re-
spects At the age of twelve he sent to
England where he fitted into the foreign school
regime In less than six months. He played foot
ball at Rugby learned to fence. ride and SWIM
entered into tournaments of golf and tennis, hrted
and wrote love lyrics. Later he went to Heidel-
borg where he crossed swords with the daredevils
and drank and sang his way into the hearts OF his
fellow workers. Returning to England he entered
Christ college oxford, where on graduation he
took the first prize away from seven of the brain
lest of Britshers and then went to Paris, where
he wrote play that was produced at the Coincide
Franchise he returned to- Germany and wrote his
thesis for his doctors degree in German, and,
after visiting every court in Europe. returned
home by way OF America where he stopped long
enough to pay the president an extended visit and