Chakrabongse Bhuvanath

Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (Template:Langx; Template:RTGS; 3 March 1883 – 13 June 1920), was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn and the fourth child of Queen Sri Bajarindra.

Early life and education

File:Vajiravudh and Saovabha.jpg

Queen Saovabha and her sons, circa 1900 (from left to right: Prince Asdang, Crown Prince Maha Vajiravudh, Prince Chakrabongse, Queen Saovabha, Prince Prajadhipok, and Prince Chudadhut)

File:Royal Funeral Urn of Chakrabongse Bhuvanath @ Thonburi Railway Station.jpg

Procession of Royal Funeral Urn of Chakrabongse Bhuvanath at Thonburi Railway Station, 1920

The prince was sent to the Russian Empire in his teens, where he studied at the Page Corps and became an officer of His Majesty's Hussar Life Guards Regiment.

Family

He returned to Siam with a wife, Catherine Desnitski from Lutsk (at that time part of the Russian Empire, nowadays part of Ukraine), whom he had married in 1906. The Prince and his wife lived with their son, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, in Paruskavan Palace in Bangkok. They later divorced and he remarried the year before his death.

Royal careers

File:เจ้าฟ้าจักรพงษ์ภูวนาถ-พุ่ม-สาคร-รัสเซีย.jpg

Chakrabongse Bhuvanath when attending the Staff School

The prince was a favourite son of both the King and Queen. He travelled extensively, visiting among other countries the US and United Kingdom in 1902. He also represented his father on foreign visits, such as for the funeral of King Umberto I of Italy in 1900, the wedding of Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia in 1905, and the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary of the United Kingdom in 1911.

He and his brother Prince Purachatra, Commander of the Army Engineers, were instrumental in the development of aviation in the Kingdom. Prince Chakrabongse is best remembered today as the father of the army's Royal Aeronautical Service, a forerunner to the Royal Thai Air Force.

Prince Chakrabongse also served as Chief of Staff of the Royal Siamese Army until his death.

Death

He died from pneumonia in 1920 at the age of 37.

Honours

File:Emblem of Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (Order of the Seraphim).svg

Emblem of Chakrabongse Bhuvanath as a knight of the Order of the Seraphim.

National honours

• File:Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (1891)
• File:Order of the Nine Gems (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems (1894)
• File:Order of Chula Chom Klao - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Illustrious Order of Chula Chom Klao (1900)
• File:Ratana Varabhorn Order of Merit ribbon.svg Member of the Ratana Varabhorn Order of Merit (1911)
• File:Order of Rama 1st Class ribbon.svg Knight Grand Commander (First Class) of the Honourable Order of Rama (1918)
• File:Order of the White Elephant - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (1913)
• File:Order of the Crown of Thailand - Special Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (1918)
• File:Dushdi Mala - Civilian (Thailand).svg Dushdi Mala Medal for Arts (1903)
• File:Chakra Mala Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg Chakra Mala Medal (1914)
• File:King Rama IV Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg King Rama IV Royal Cypher Medal, 2nd Class (1908)
• File:King Rama V Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg King Rama V Royal Cypher Medal, 1st Class (1908)
• File:King Rama VI Royal Cypher Medal (Thailand) ribbon.svg King Rama VI Royal Cypher Medal, 1st Class (1910)

Foreign honours

• Template:Country data Denmark:
  • File:Order of the Elephant Ribbon bar.svg Knight of the Order of the Elephant (7 August 1911)
• Template:Country data Sweden:
  • File:Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar.svg Knight of the Order of the Seraphim (10 September 1911)

References

• His Royal Highness Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, Prince of Bisnulok

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