Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn paid tribute to his ancestors in a ceremony before his official coronation, when he was given the title of King Rama X, the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty.
In 18th century tradition, the Chakri kings bore the official title of Rama, after an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu from the Indian epic Ramayana.
At the end of the first millennium, the Indian epic was adopted by the Thai people.
The earliest records of the early Sukhothai kingdom, dating from the 13th century, include accounts of the Ramayana.
And for traditional Thai historians, the founding of the Sukhothai kingdom is the beginning of their nation,
The Ramayana was later adapted to Thailand to become the Ramakien.
And it was under King Rama I, known as "the Great", that the Ramakien took its final form.
It has been the Thai national epic since then, and many of the rites and symbols associated with royalty come from this very ancient origin, the Ramayana.
Here are details of the ten kings, Rama, of the Chakri dynasty:
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1. Rama I - King Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (king from 1782 to 1809)
Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke founded the Chakri dynasty and established Bangkok as the capital of Siam.
He ruled for 27 years and is best known for repelling the last major Burmese attack on Siam, known as the Nine Army Wars, from 1785 to 1786.
2. Rama II - King Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (king from 1809 to 1824)
King Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai succeeded his father in 1809 and reigned for nearly 15 years.
His reign was more peaceful.
Art and literature flourish.
The king was a passionate composer of poetry, plays and songs.
The most famous poet under the King's patronage was Sunthorn Phu, known as the "Shakespeare of Thailand" for his role in literature.
3. Rama III - King Phra Nangklao (1824-1851)
King Phra Nangklao reformed the tax system, the treasury system and oversaw the development of trade with China during his 27-year reign from 1824.
Siam resumed official contacts with Western powers for the first time since the end of the Ayutthaya period, and supported the British in their first Anglo-Burmese war in 1824.
The king did not name a successor and the throne passed to his half-brother.
4. Rama IV - King Mongkut (1851-1868)
Probably the most famous king of Siam after Rama IX in the West.
Mongkut was featured in the 1951 Broadway musical "The King and I" and in a 1956 Hollywood film.
Under increasing pressure from the West during his 17-year reign, Mongkut signed the Bowring Treaty with the British Empire which abolished the royal monopoly on foreign trade.
Mongkut later died of malaria, which he contracted on an expedition to see a total eclipse of the sun.
5. Rama V - King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910)
The 42-year reign of King Chulalongkorn, son of Mongkut, is known for his efforts to modernise and abolish slavery.
It also ceded territory to Western powers, including Laos and Cambodia to France, and the Malay sultanates of Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis to the UK.
Chulalongkorn was the first Siamese king to send royal princes to study in Europe.
He visited twice and presented Siam as a modern nation to European leaders.
See our article :
King Rama V (Chulalongkorn)
6. Rama VI - King Vajiravudh (1910-1925)
Vajiravudh's reign was characterised by the creation and promotion of Siamese nationalism.
He modernised the army and sent troops to join the Allied forces in the First World War.
7. Rama VII - King Prajadhipok (1925-1935)
Prajadhipok was the last absolute monarch of Siam and its first constitutional monarch after the Siamese revolution of 1932.
Educated at Eton, he succeeded his brother in 1926.
Six years later, a group of military officers and civil servants launched an almost bloodless coup.
Prajadhipok abdicated in 1935 and spent the rest of his life with his wife in England.
The couple had no children.
8. Rama VIII - King Ananda Mahidol (1935-1946)
Ananda ascended the throne after his uncle abdicated.
His father, Prince Mahidol, was a son of King Chulalongkorn.
Ananda was nine years old and studying in Switzerland when he was chosen to succeed Prajadhipok.
The government changed the name of the country to Thailand in 1939.
In 1946, 20-year-old Ananda was found shot dead in his room inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok under mysterious circumstances, four days before his planned return to school in Switzerland.
9. Rama IX - King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946-2016)
Bhumibol succeeded his brother in 1946 and ruled for 70 years, the longest reign in the world.
The American-born king has become the face of Thailand, blending tradition and modernity and travelling the world with Queen Sirikit.
During his reign, the country had 30 prime ministers, 10 successful military coups and 17 constitutions.
His intervention in several political crises has helped to stop bloodshed.
He received the first United Nations Lifetime Achievement Award in Human Development for more than 3,000 royal development projects.
See our article :
Rama IX: Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand from 1950 to 2016
10. Rama X - King Vajiralongkorn since 2016
King Rama X ascended the throne after the death of his father in 2016.
At his coronation, he declared that he would follow in the footsteps of his father, King Bhumibol.
He vowed to: continue, preserve, develop and rule justly for the benefit and happiness of his people.
See also :
Rama X or Maha Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
Source: Wikipedia ; reuters.com
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