PM leads national ceremonies honouring ‘great moderniser’, King Chulalongkorn

Srettha led Cabinet members and senior officials to lay wreaths in front of King Chulalongkorn’s statue on the Royal Plaza in front of Dusit Palace’s Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in central Bangkok.

Others laying wreaths at the Royal Plaza included commanders-in-chief of the armed forces, their wives, chairs of independent organisations and heads of government agencies serving the monarch, as well as heads of state enterprises and representatives of political parties and educational institutes.

October 23 is a national holiday to remember the death of King Rama V, who is known by Thais as Phra Piya Maharaj (the Great Beloved King), for his deeds and efforts to modernize Siam.

The Royal Thai Army also held a grand ceremony to commemorate the 113th anniversary of the passing of King Chulalongkorn at its headquarters.

The ceremony was attended by senior army officers and their wives.

Army Commander-in-Chief Charoenchai Hinthao instructed army bases nationwide to hold simultaneous ceremonies in honour of the late king.

King Chulalongkorn was the fifth king of Siam under the House of Chakri. He reigned from 1868 to 1910 and is considered one of the most important and influential monarchs in Thai history.

King Chulalongkorn was born in 1853 to King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra. He received a traditional Thai education, but also studied English and Western subjects. He was a keen observer of the world around him and was determined to modernize Siam to avoid the fate of Western colonization that befell Thailand’s neighbours.

King Chulalongkorn ascended the throne at the age of 15. Among his most notable achievements was the abolition of slavery in Siam. To avoid social unrest, he did this gradually over a period of several decades.

He also reformed the government bureaucracy, established a modern education system, and built a network of roads and railways.

King Chulalongkorn died on October 23, 1910, at the age of 57. He was succeeded by his son, King Vajiravudh.