From nurse to duchess

Raised in Kiev, which was then part of the Russian Empire, Ekaterina “Katya” Desnitskaya belonged to a family that was once rich but had fallen on hard times. She moved to St Petersburg to become a nurse and, a staunch patriot, volunteered to go to the front during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. Despite her suitor, Siamese Prince Chakrabongse, trying hard to convince her to stay in the Imperial Russian capital, 17-year old Katya was determined to serve her country.

By the time she returned to St. Petersburg with several decorations to her name, there were simmering tensions in the air after Russia’s humiliating defeat to Japan, and rumours of a coup or revolution were widespread. Convinced that Prince Chakrabongse was sincere in his feelings, she agreed to marry him.

Without mentioning his imminent wedding to a Russian commoner, the Thai prince met Tsar Nicholas II, to whom he had became close, and told him that he was going back to Siam. Since news travelled fast even in the days when there was no Internet, the Thai prince was very eager to keep his wedding a secret. MR Narisa Chakrabongse and Eileen Hunter wrote in their book “Katya and the Prince of Siam” that the couple sought permission for their wedding from Katya’s brother Ivan, who was the only close family member on either side to know.

The couple married in a secret ceremony in Constantinople (now Istanbul) then spent time in Cairo before heading to Asia through Port Said.

“Katya’s letters and diaries indicate that she was apprehensive about the life, food and culture of Siam, but more so about the way the news of their wedding would be received,” says Chiang Mai-based researcher Thunjira Wattaporn.

Prince Chakrabongse left Katya in Singapore and proceeded to Bangkok alone. For close to three weeks he kept his wedding a secret, and when the rumours reached his parents, he made arrangements for Katya to join him.

Prince Chakrabongse’s father King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) brought about several reforms in Siam, and believed that the country needed to be modernised in a slow and steady manner. Although he frowned upon consanguineous marriages that were then common among the Thai royalty, King Rama V was not ready to accept a foreign daughter-in-law. 

“Prince Chakrabongse was second in line to the throne and his having a European wife was too much for the king to handle,” says Thunjira. 

Queen Saovabha also refused to accept the marriage initially but slowly warmed to the Russian woman, who within two years became a fluent Thai speaker. Once Katya gave birth to the royal couple’s first grandchild, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, the queen regularly started meeting her daughter-in-law. 

Katya was given the title of Duchess of Bisnulok, as Chakrabongse was the titular prince of the city, now known as Phitsanulok. 

Katya and Prince Chakrabongse lived in Bangkok’s Paruskavan Palace. She learned Thai and English and took care of the upkeep of the palace and gardens, although she seemed to be perplexed with relationship that the royals had with their servants. “Servants here come to a prince’s house and ask to serve him without payment,” she wrote in one of the letter published in the book.

“This is most extraordinary but when you realise that all servants in this house are nobles, it seems more unusual still.” Katya was also uncomfortable with the fact that servants crawled in front of her, as a mark of respect.

Although she was a devout Orthodox Christian, Katya developed a liking for Buddhism. “The more I get to know Buddhist customs, the more I like the religion,” she wrote in another letter to her brother. 

In many of her letters, Katya described Siam as paradise and wrote about her good life. The couple had another home across the river from the Wat Arun and a larger country house in the resort town of Hua Hin.

“They lived a charmed existence and travelled across the country and to Europe,” says Thunjira. “Since she had no financial restrictions, Katya travelled on her own. In fact, they were separated on many occasions as Prince Chakrabongse became a senior military officer and had to be away as well.”

Perhaps inevitably the couple drifted apart. Katya grew increasingly apprehensive about Russia during the First World War and was shaken by the Bolshevik Revolution and knowledge of the fact that many of her friends and family members were displaced and became refugees. 

“While she was travelling, the prince became involved with a 15-year old niece of his,” Thunjira says. “This eventually led to the Thai-Russian couple filing for divorce.”

The couple divorced in 1919 and Katya turned down a big settlement from Prince Chakrabongse, settling for an annual payment of 1200 pounds. “She even rejected a gift of jewels from King Rama VI,” Thunjira adds.

Katya moved to Peking, where her brother was director of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Appalled by the situation in a city teeming with refugees, some in a deplorable state of destitution, Katya joined the Russian Benevolent Society and soon her days were filled with welfare and committee work.”

Katya would return briefly to Bangkok in 1920 for the funeral of Prince Chakrabongse, who died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 37. “To this day, many believe that the French may have poisoned the prince, since he opposed their expansion into Laos and Cambodia,” says Thunjira.

Katya married an American engineer in Peking and lived in Paris for a while before settling in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She died at the age of 72 in 1960 and was buried in a cemetery in Paris. 

The story of Katya and Prince Chakrabongse was adapted into a ballet production by the Kremlin Ballet Theatre and was staged at Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music in 2003.