Chula Chakrabongse

Chula Chakrabongse
Prince of Thailand
Born (1908-03-28)28 March 1908
Paruskavan Palace, Bangkok, Siam
Died 30 December 1963(1963-12-30) (aged 55)
Cornwall, England
Spouse Elisabeth Curling Hunter
Issue Narisa Chakrabongse
House Chakrabongse family (Chakri Dynasty)
Father Chakrabongse Bhuvanath
Mother Ekaterina Desnitskaya
Military career
Allegiance  Thailand
Service/branch Royal Thai Army
Rank Major General[1]

Chula Chakrabongse (Thai: จุลจักรพงษ์; RTGS: Chunlachakkraphong; 28 March 1908 – 30 December 1963), was a member of the family of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand and of the House of Chakkraphong. He was the only child of Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath and his Ukrainian wife, Ekaterina (Catherine) Desnitska (later Mom Catherine Na Phitsanulok). He was a grandson of King Chulalongkorn.

Early life

Prince Chula with Elizabeth Hunter in 1936

Prince Chula Chakrabongse was born on 28 March 1908 in Paruskavan Palace, Bangkok, with the title Mom Chao (His Serene Highness). Saovabha Phongsri, his grandmother, gave him the name Phongchak (พงษ์จักร; RTGS: Phongchak). Later his uncle, King Vajiravudh, raised him the higher rank of Phra Chao Worawong Thoe Phra Ong Chao (His Royal Highness Prince) and changed his name to Chunlachakkraphong. Palace officials affectionately called him "the Little Prince" (ท่านพระองค์หนู Than Phraong Nu).

When very young, Chula was sent to study in the United Kingdom, where he spent his teenage years, attending Harrow School. He graduated with Bachelor and Master from Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

Later life

In 1938 he married Elizabeth Hunter, an English woman (known as Lisba). Their daughter, Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabhongse, was born in 1956.[2] [3] They lived at Tredethy, St Mabyn, in Cornwall in the 1940s and 1950s.[4]

When Prince Chula's cousin Prince Birabongse Bhanudej ("B. Bira") went to England in 1927, Chula was supervising a racing team called White Mouse Racing.[5] Prince Bira decided to drive for him.

In 1936 Chula's White Mouse team purchased an ERA for Bira, and he quickly became one of the leading exponents of this class of international racing. Bira's partnership with Chula ended in late 1948.

Prince Chula was the author of thirteen books, including a history of the Chakri Dynasty, a biography about the race-car driver Richard Seaman and an autobiography.

Prince Chula died of cancer in 1963 at the age of 55.

Titles and styles

28 March 1908 – 1923: His Serene Highness Prince Phongchak

(Thai: หม่อมเจ้าพงษ์จักร; RTGS: Mom Chao Phongchak)

1923 – 30 December 1963: His Royal Highness Prince Chula Chakrabongse

(Thai: พระเจ้าวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าจุลจักรพงษ์; RTGS: Phra Chao Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Chula Chakrabongse)

Orders and decorations

Thai honours

Foreign honors

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2502/D/087/2148_1.PDF
  2. ↑ Soravij. "Chakrabongse". Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  3. ↑ HRH Prince Chula CHAKRABONGSE. genealogy.rootsweb.com
  4. ↑ "New Zealand Cornish Association newsletter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  5. ↑ His Highness (Pra Worawongse Ther Pra Ong Chao) Prince Birabongse Bhanutej
  6. ↑ "PRINCE OF SIAM VISITS KING, Invested With Order". Central Queensland Herald. 10 February 1938. Retrieved 4 September 2018.

Bibliography

Autobiography
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1989). Koet Wang Parut เกิดวังปารุสก์ [Born in Parut Palace] (PDF) (in Thai) (10th ed.). Bangkok: Phitsanulok Publishing. ISBN 9748693856.
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1957). The Twain Have Met: Or, an Eastern Prince Came West. Foulis. OCLC 11760365.
Other works
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1993). Chao Chiwit Sayam Kon Yuk Prachathipatai เจ้าชีวิตสยามก่อนยุคประชาธิปไตย [Siamese Lords of Life Prior to Democratic Age] (PDF) (in Thai) (4th ed.). Bangkok: River Books. ISBN 9748358844.
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1945). Dick Seaman, Racing Motorist (4th ed.). G. T. Foulis & Company.
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1967). Lords of Life: A History of the Kings of Thailand. Alvin Redman.
  • Chula Chakrabongse (writing as Prince Chula of Siam) (1946). Road Racing 1936: Being an Account of One Season of B. Bira, the Racing Motorist (2nd ed.). London: G. T. Foulis & Company.
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