Suddha Dibyaratana

Suddha Dibyaratana
Princess of Siam
Princess of Rattanakosin
Born (1877-09-14)14 September 1877
Grand Palace
Bangkok, Siam
Died 2 January 1922(1922-01-02) (aged 44)
Bangkok, Siam
Full name
Suddha Dibayaratana Sukhumkhattiya Galyavadi
House Chakri Dynasty
Father Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
Mother Queen Sukhumala Marasri

Suddha Dibyaratana, Princess of Rattanakosin (Thai: สุทธาทิพยรัตน์; RTGS: Sutthathipphayarat;14 September 1877 – 2 January 1922), was the Princess of Siam (later Thailand). She was a member of the Siamese Royal Family. She was the first daughter of Chulalongkorn, King Rama V of Siam.

Her mother was Queen Sukhumala Marasri, fourth Queen Consort and half-sister of King Chulalongkorn. She had a younger brother, Paribatra Sukhumbandhu, the Prince of Nakhon Sawan. Her full given name was Suddha Dibyaratana Sukhumkhattiya Galyavadi (Thai: สุทธาทิพยรัตน์ สุขุมขัตติยกัลยาวดี. She was, if not, one of the most beautiful princess out of all the King's daughters.

On 9 August 1906, she was given the royal title of The Princess of Rattanakosin, translated in Thai as Krommaluang Si Rattanakosin (Thai: กรมหลวงศรีรัตนโกสินทร). She was the only daughter given the rank of Krommaluang, the 3rd level of the Krom ranks.

Royal duties

She was one of the executive vice-presidents of the Red Unalom Society, the major humanitarian organisation (later Thai Red Cross Society), founded by Queen Savang Vadhana as maternal patron. Queen Saovabha Phongsri was appointed the first president, and Thanpuying Plien Phasakoravongs acted as the society secretary. Suddha Dibyaratana worked as the executive vice-president with the other princesses;

When she turned 40 years old in 1917, Suddha Dibyaratana gave 200,000 bahts to the Thai Red Cross Society, for building Chulalongkorn Hospital, to honour to her father. When the hospital was completed, she named the building Suddhathip 2463. At present, the Chulalongkorn Hospital uses this building as the Nursing College.

She is fluent in Thai, French and English, and in her youth serves her father as his secretary. The princess is a tailor and is known to be skilled at lacemaking as well. She is the first to mix Western-styled clothing with traditional Thai clothing, such as wearing a Western blouse and the traditional Thai skirt.

Princess Suddha Dibyaratana is  kind and gentle. She adores children and is very close to her young ladies-in-waiting, something unusual for a princess of her rank. She took care of their upbringing and education. However, she can be strict. Her nephew Prince Chula Chakrabongse, recalls that when he was a little boy, the princess once scolded him. "She is very beautiful, but rather scary," he wrote in his memoirs, "but she is kind to me, and took good care of me when I went to visit her".

Later life

After her father's death in 1910, she moved from her own residence in the Grand Palace to live with her mother, Queen Sukhumala Marasri and her younger brother, Paribatra Sukhumbandhu, the Prince of Nakhon Sawan. In later life, Princess Suddha Dibyaratana suffered from many ailments, including asthma. She died of pulmonary tuberculosis on 2 January 1922 at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.

Royal decorations

Ancestry

References

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