The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1920-08-12
TZYG go cEzN

SNH HE recent death of his royal high
ness Chao Fa Chrakrabongs Phiva-
narth, Prince PhitsanulOk, the heir
presumptive to the Samese throne
directs attention to the fact that
ns<NIN King Rama VI is the first bachelor
NkLSSEN king of Siam In $500 years. Anu
EAkF WA what is more, il Is international
WI M diplomatic gossip that he Is waiting
NM Wi to win an American woman to share
XS1ENN9SN his throne One reason may be that
NGHS%N King Rama has seen American
~ w beauties in twenty states OF the
Union.
Rama VI known to his people as Semdet
Phra Paramndr Maha Vajiravudh Mongkut Krao,
Somdet Phr1 Rama 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 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 desired-and had-a member
of every family Of note In his kingdom in his
''househod" No outsider ever knew just how
many wives he did have. His son, Maha Chua-
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
crown 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 Netherlands-his father
presented him with collection Of Siamese
beauties, saying:
"My son. here are something hundred
of the beauties of the court for you to start light
housekeeping with, and TO these you may add as
you fit
But the young prince, much to the discomfort
of his royal father. told the monarch that he would
have 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
well the queen of my realm His father
took the decision of his son very much to heart
and some have gone so far as to say that his boys
stubborn adherence to his word helped to end his
royal fathers life When his majesty Maha
Vajiravudh-known thereafter as Rama VI
came to the throne, there was no queen and
no heir, crown prince, or, as they say In SIAM
an heir presumptve, had to be, chosen, and the
lot naturally fell to the late Prince Phitsanulck
who was n brother Of the king by the same
mother
Siam is a polygamous country. According to
Siamese law a may have as many wives
he 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. 1 have eghty-six
children"
The present king has something like twenty
half-Drothers ana any quantity OF nhlI-slsterS In
doing away with the royal harem his majesty
struck a blow at of the oldest and most funda-
mental customs of the country. And IL he
chooses to step out of the beaten track and marry
a 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 a 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
ball at Rugby, learned to fence, ride and swim;
entered into tournaments of golf and tennis firted
and wrote love lyrics Later he went to Hedel-
berg 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 Rritishers, and then went to Paris, where
he wrote play that 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