What the Assassination of Rama VIII Reveals About Thai Society
By: Lanlana, Fay
Tags: Monarchy, Thailand, Controversy, Truth, Democracy

The Assassination

A gunshot rang out from King Ananda’s bedroom, as the King’s page cried out: “The King’s shot himself!”

Timeline

6:00 — The King was awoken by his mother.

7:30 — One of Ananda’s page, Butr Patthamasarin, prepared breakfast on the balcony connected to his dressing room.

8:30 — Butr brought Ananda’s usual glass of orange juice to him; however, he refused it due to his mild

intestinal indigestion.

8:45 — King Ananda’s other page, Chit Singhaseni, was called in to measure the King’s medals and decorations for a jeweler who was making a case for him.

9:00 — Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej (his brother) visited him. He said that the King was asleep in bed.

9:20 — Chit called out that the King was shot. Laying in bed with a mosquito netting was Ananda’s body.

Ananda lay dead, flat on his back without glasses. A Colt .45 pistol, weighing about 1.1 grams, was situated beside his left hand; he had a single bullet wound above his left eye (Simpson).

King Ananda pointing a pistol (Marshall).

The King’s mother was the second person to enter the room, throwing herself at Ananda, grieving and weeping at the sight of her dead son. The King’s former nanny followed behind, feeling for his pulse. Prince Bhumibol and Butr followed into the bedroom. Butr called the doctor, whilst others helped wash King Ananda’s dead body, applying iced blocks to delay corpse decomposition. After the police finally arrived, they were instructed that “no-one may touch the Divine Body.” Only until the King’s body was about to be officially buried was when the doctors at Chulalongkorn hospital were allowed to examine the body (Simpson).

One of many theories of the assassination was that it was a self-inflicted incident as the pistol that was placed beside his hand. However, this theory was flawed in many ways. The gun weighed at least a kilogram, which yielded substantial weight, especially holding it from his position in bed. Furthermore, King Ananda did not have his spectacles on. With his very poor eyesight, many postulated that it would have been implausible he could have shot himself at that range, considering the trajectory of the bullet through his skull (Marshall, Thailand’s Saddest). But there was one very plausible theory. A very controversial one.

Prince Bhumibol, his brother, and King Ananda (Sirinya).

The theory was that his brother did it. Bhumibol Adulyadej. The highly esteemed monarch who succeeded the throne as King Rama IX.

Aftershock

The death of King Ananda Mahidol was soon announced on June 9th, stating that it was an accident as the King was playing with the pistol. The Democrat Party spread rumors that the current prime minister then, Pridi Banomyong, had committed this regicide. The military government ordered a prosecution trial and accused King Ananda’s Secretary, Senator Chaleo Patoomros, and his pages, Butr and Chit of assassinating the king. Despite the lacking evidence, the three were found guilty by the Supreme Court and were executed by the firing squad. Bhumibol later stated that he believed they were not guilty, after the execution (Sulak).

King Ananda and Prince Bhumibol standing together (Teenee Media).

Though no concrete proof of the assassin has been confirmed due to the royal family and the government’s attempt to censor news related to the monarchy, many speculations point back to him. Though no concrete proof of the assassin has been confirmed due to the royal family and the government’s attempt to censor news related to the monarchy, many speculations point back to him.

Butr reportedly overheard a conversation between Bhumibol and his mother exclaiming “whatever you wish to do, do it” whilst they were washing up King Ananda’s body. There were conflicting accounts of what occurred that day. The nanny said she heard a gunshot, whilst Bhumibol heard a shout instead. There were discrepancies in the evidence provided to various sources like a BBC interview for his documentary “Soul of a Nation,” or for a book by Canadian author William Stevenson on how King Ananda died, or even his testimony during the trials (Marshall, Thailand’s Saddest).

What This All Means

There’s no conclusive evidence that can confirm the exact occurrences on the morning of June 9th, as this will, perhaps, remain a mystery.

But it’s no mystery that the government attempts to censor the media containing any content about the monarchy or the government. The larger implications aren’t the murder itself but rather the coverup of this murder that reveals an obvious flaw in the Thai system: people in power can manipulate information in a way that favors their preferred narrative. Freedom of speech and free media allows individuals to become the gatekeepers of the information they choose to consume. But censoring the media grants dictatorial power to gatekeepers like the government of the monarchy, which impedes the freedom of people.

A screenshot from change.org, a website that is censored in Thailand (Sukparangsee).

This land belongs not to the monarchy but to the People.