Nanmadaw Me Nu

Nanmadaw Me Nu (Burmese: နန်းမတော် မယ်နု, pronounced [náɴmədɔ̀ mɛ̀ nṵ]; 18 June 1783 – 12 May 1840) was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837. Married to Bagyidaw (then, Prince of Sagaing) in 1801, Me Nu became queen when Bagyidaw ascended the throne on 5 June 1819 as the chief queen consort, with the title Namadaw Mibaya Khaunggyi (lit. Queen of the Main Palace").^[1]

Me Nu was part of the war party along with Gen. Maha Bandula and her brother Maung O, the Lord of Salin, in Bagyidaw's court that advocated war with the British.^[2] After the disastrous First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) that left the country crippled, Bagyidaw became increasingly reclusive. Me Nu and her brother became de facto rulers of the country, and they were much feared for their tyrannical rule. In February 1837, Crown Prince Tharrawaddy, brother of Bagyidaw, raised a rebellion against Bagyidaw, successfully forcing Bagyidaw to abdicate in April. Tharrawaddy put his brother under house arrest but executed Me Nu and her brother.^[1]

Queen Me Nu had a son and a daughter with Bagyidaw. The son, Prince of Palaing, died young at 10 in April 1804. The daughter Princess Supayagale was a queen (Queen Hsinbyumashin) of King Mindon and mother of Burma's last queen Supayalat.

The Queen's Brick Monastery

References

Bibliography

• Buyers, Christopher. "The Konbaung Dynasty Genealogy". royalark.net. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
• Myint-U, Thant (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.