Kraisee

Kraisee ไกรสีห์
King Rama VII
Siamese Emperor King of Siam
Tenure	22 February 1930 - Present
Coronation	1 April 1930
Predecessor	Vajirunhis (Rama VI)
Minister of Defence
In office	5 January 1927 - 22 February 1930
Predecessor	Yaem na Nakorn
Successor	Paribatra Sukhumbandhu
Born	(1902-10-11)11 October 1902 Sandringham House, Norfolk, England
Spouse	Maureen Constance Guinness (m. 1925)
House	Chakri Dynasty
Father	Vajirunhis (Rama VI)
Mother	Nidnoi Pornpipatpong
Religion	Buddhism
Military service
Branch/service	Royal Siamese Army
Years of service	1927-1930 (active service)
Rank	Field Marshal
Unit	11th Infantry Regiment

Kraisee (Thai: ไกรสีห์; RTGS: Kirsih; born 11 October 1902) is the current Siamese Emperor and King of Siam. As the seventh monarch of the Chakri Dynasty of Siam, he is also styled as Rama VII. The only son of King Vajirunhis, he was instantly made crown prince by his father. Following his father's death on February 22nd, 1930, Kraisee ascended both to the thrones of Siamese Emperor and King of Siam. Prior to his accession, Kraisee served as the empire's Minister of Defence.

An Oxford graduate, Kraisee has mostly pursued liberal reforms in his first year as monarch of Siam, ranging from both administrative to social aspects. In 1925, he controversially married the Anglo-Irish socialite Maureen Constance Guinness, whom subsequently became the first royal consort of European birth.

Early Life

Kraisee was born on October 11th, 1902 as the eldest and only son of the then Crown Prince Vajirunhis and his wife Nidnoi Pornpipatpong, during the reign of his grandfather King Chulalongkorn. At the time of his birth, in contrast to most other Siamese princes, Kraisee was instead born on foreign soil, namely Sandringham House in Norfolk, England, which had been the temporary residence of his parents at the time by the courtesy of Queen Victoria, as to accomodate the Crown Prince's studies at the University of Oxford.

Aside from his basic education in local Siamese cultures and traditions, Kraisee was also taught in the liberal arts and the English language beginning from the age of five. Having proved to be a somewhat excellent student in the face of his tutors, he was also described as being a rather "stoic, but at times compassionate boy". Growing up, Kraisee enjoyed sports like horseback riding, swimming, and football. On numerous occasions, Kraisee would often interact with the British royal princes, particularly the future Edward VIII whom would later describe the young prince as being "rather dignified, elegant, but manly".

Crown Prince of Siam

Return to Siam

In the year 1910, Kraisee's grandfather, King Chulalongkorn passed away, and was instantly succeeded by Kraisee's father, whom became King Rama VI. This also coincided with an immediate return to Siam which meant that Kraisee was now forced to depend on local educators only though due to the open policy championed by his grandfather and great-grandfather, Kraisee's parents were able to easily afford the prince an European education. At the age of twelve, he was formally made Crown Prince of Siam by his father, King Vajirunhis.

First World War

When the First World War broke out, King Vajirunhis had instinctively declared Siam to be that of a neutral belligerent, owing to the surrounding European colonies bordering the kingdom. However, the government's neutral stance began to come under scrutiny when by 1917, the Allied belligerents were showing possible signs of defeat, prompting some of the king's royal ministers into pressuring the former to formally declare war on the Allied nations, particularly France, which Siam had conceded to a substantial amount of territory decades prior to the war.

Ultimately, after much deliberation and brief infighting between the king and his advisors, Siam formally entered the war on August that year. However, in the official issuing of the declaration of war, King Vajirunhis had made a particular change to the declaration's text, in which he listed all but one, that is the United Kingdom from its list of enemies in the war. This was done so as to portray Siam as only an enemy of France, and not the United Kingdom, whom Vajirunhis sought to maintain relations with in the aftermath of the war. Subsequently, a military campaign was mounted against the French colonial troops in Indochina which culminated in an overall success, with the last French garrison there surrendering to the victorious Siamese troops on February 1918. For the remainder of the war, while the naval theater proved largely inconclusive, Siamese troops were able to largely repel subsequent French attempts to retake the mainland. At the Berlin Peace Conference in November that year, Siam's acquisition of French Indochina was recognised though by the behest of King Vajirunhis himself, Siam paid an amount of approximately 5,000 baht as "war reparations" to the United Kingdom.

Siamese Empire

Over the next couple of days, the idea of a German-based Siamese empire immediately rose to the forefront as the King of Siam himself took to meet the kings of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, all of whom had fell under Siamese jurisdiction following the end of the war. Ultimately, after a series of proposals and alterations, on November 5th, the Siamese empire was formally established with vajirunhis being proclaimed Siamese Emperor.

At the same time, Kraisee himself was sent back abroad to further his studies, particularly to the United Kingdom, with the decision meant to restore relations between the new Siamese empire and the British whom bordered the empire in India and Malaya. Nevertheless, having finished his studies at the Oxford University, Kraisee, with his father's permission then furthered his studies at the famed Prussian Staff College in Berlin, Germany. His later success at the military college subsequently brought headlines in both Europe and Siam itself.

Minister of Defence

Following his return to Siam in 1927, during which he was also made General of the Royal Siamese Army's 11th Infantry Regiment, Kraisee was subsequently appointed the new Minister of Defence by Emperor Vajirunhis, which allowed the crown prince to generalise his efforts in continuously modernising the empire's military. Among his subsequent reforms would be the introduction of field armies, a decision heavily factored from his own observation of the First World War. Furthermore, Kraisee also further updated and modernised the military's chain of command in order to better match its European counterparts, particularly the Germans, whom Kraisee had based his reforms off.

Spratly Incident

In 1928, upon hearing rumours of the French colonial government's ambitions in acquiring the largely Chinese populated islands in the South China Sea, Kraisee ordered an immediate expedition to capture the islands instead, namely the Spratly and Paracel islands, which they did so with relative ease. Subsequently, the French colonial government, now based in Guangzhouwan disputed the action, citing the fact that the islands were within the French maritime range, particularly the Paracel Islands. In response, Kraisee ordered for the islands to be fortified in the event of a French invasion. Ultimately, the supposed invasion itself never materialised, though in response to the militarisation of the islands, the French did sent a small group of ships to scout the island parameters.

Reign

Upon the death of his father, King Vajirunhis, Kraisee, whom was then away on a hunting trip in northern Siam was promptly declared Siamese Emperor and King of Siam. Subsequently, his accompanying entourage, upon being informed of the late king's death quickly signalled for the new king to return to Bangkok immediately, which Kraisee did so as he, alongside his wife and entourage departed by plane from the Suthep Airport in the city of Chiang Mai, later arriving at the Don Mueang airfield in Bangkok, where he was received by a massive crowd upon his arrival.

Despite the unanimously large public support in favour of his reign, Kraisee's main challenge as the new Siamese monarch is combating the current effects of the Great Depression, which had then resulted in economical turmoil across the globe. Having sternly advocated for a reduction in taxes and overall spending, as to reduce the budget deficit, Kraisee's measures has seen some success in alleviating the situation in Siam, though the full extent of its effects remains yet to be seen.

Marriage

While residing in the United Kingdom for his studies, Vajirunhis was quick to attract attention and fame from among the general British public, not least because of his country's past involvement in the First World War on the side of the Central Powers, but rather due to his own importance as the Crown Prince of Siam. Evidently, Kraisee's own lack of genuine support for the likes of Germany and its allies meant that the defeated Allies, particularly the United Kingdom would be able to potentially coerce the young Kraisee into becoming a firm supporter of the Allies instead.

Often the guests of various fancy and exquisite parties held by the British nobility across Great Britain, Kraisee's somewhat dashing looks, coupled with his pompous status as Crown Prince of Siam proved valuable in securing interest from the majority of young English noblewomen prevalent at the parties. On one such instance, Kraisee attracted the attention of the eldest of the famed Guinness Golden Girls, namely the twenty one year old Aileen Guinness whom, like a number of other noblewomen in the parties harbored deep interest in the crown prince's Oriental background. Nevertheless, while there were persistent rumours claiming that the two had immediately "hit it off", Kraisee himself however ultimately favored the second eldest of the trio, Maureen Constance Guinness whom by then, had just turned eighteen years old. While a direct proposal did not immediately materialised, for Kraisee himself spent several weeks courting the younger Guinness, it did so eventually on March 11th. when Kraisee successfully proposed to the latter when the two attended the 1925 Royal Ascot at Ascot, Berkshire, England. Almost immediately, when the couple's engagement was made public, it received a mix of enthusiasm and surprise from among the British public, for the marriage between an Asian royal and an European noblewoman was at most, an extremely rare case. Meanwhile, in Siam itself, the engagement between Kraisee and Guinness immediately rose to the forefront, with Emperor Vajirunhis himself pressuredby his advisors to promptly address the matter.

Consequently, Kraisee was promptly recalled to Siam by the Siamese Emperor where upon arrival, he was expected to immediately head to the Grand Palace for a private audience with the emperor himself. However, much to everyone's surprise, Guinness herself, by Khraisee's own behest, had accompanied her fiancé on his return trip to the country, where upon her arrival, according to one British observer at the time, the young Guinness was said to had "captivated the anxious eyes of the Siamese people while presenting a dignified, elegant, and regal-like stature like her fiancé". During the subsequent private audience with the Siamese Emperor, a reluctant Guinness was said to had notably crawled infront of the former, an act alluding to the traditional Siamese customs and etiquettes, which Guinness herself reportedly detested in private.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Kraisee
8. (=8.) Mongkut 4. Chulalongkorn 9. Debsirindra 2. Vajirunhis 10. (=10.) Mongkut 5. Saovabha Phongsri 11. Piam Sucharitakul 1. Kraisee 12. Kittisak Pornpipatpong 6. Konthorn Pornpipatpong 13. Neung Pornpipatpong 3. Nidnoi Pornpipatpong 14. Kwanjai Pornpipatpong 7. Phatchara Pornpipatpong 15. Phayao Pornpipatpong