Previous   Next
Home » Images » 0065 Pictures From History » CPA0032011

Thailand: Two Thai princes. Left, the future King Ananda Mahidol (1925-1946); right the future King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-) as young boys, c. 1935

Thailand: Two Thai princes. Left, the future King Ananda Mahidol (1925-1946); right the future King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927-) as young boys, c. 1935

Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925–9 June 1946) was the eighth monarch of Thailand under the House of Chakri. He was recognized as king by the National Assembly in March 1935. He was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland at this time. He returned to Thailand in December 1945.

On 9 June 1946, the King was found dead in his bedroom in the Boromphiman Throne Hall, (a modern residential palace located within the Grand Palace), only four days before he was scheduled to return to Switzerland to finish his doctoral degree in Law at the University of Lausanne. His brother Bhumibol Adulyadej succeeded him. Ananda Mahidol was never crowned as king, but his brother posthumously gave him the full royal title of the ninefold umbrella.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 1927 – 13 October 2016), 9th monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He was known as Rama IX, and within the Thai royal family and to close associates simply as Lek. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he was one of the world's longest-serving heads of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.

Quick links to other images in this gallery: