The Coronation of His Majesty King Vajiravudh was held between 29 November and 10 December 1911 at the Grand Palace. The ceremony was entirely Siamese but with some Western protocols incorporated as foreign guests were invited for the first time in the history of Siam. Invitations were sent out worldwide, and the Royals attended were from Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden, Japan and Russia. Other countries sent representatives or their ambassadors based in Siam at that time. The Royal Guests arrived by ships on 28-29 November 1911, and were met by members of the Royal Family who were familiar with each visiting royal. They were put up at Saranrom Palace, Ambara Villa at the Dusit Palace and Phyathai Palace. All of the Royal Guests stayed for the whole duration of the ceremony. Each guest had an audience with Her Majesty Queen Sri Bajarindra, who was then styled Her Majesty Queen Saowapa Pongsri, Queen Mother of One Thousand Years, the mother of King Vajiravudh. For the Coronation Ceremony of King Rama VII, no foreign royals attended. For King Rama IX, only foreign ambassadors attended the ceremony. But for the Diamond Jubilee of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) in 2006, almost all of the 28 Royal Houses of the World sent representatives to join in the celebrations.
Photo below taken at Dusit Palace, December 1911 Above: King Rama VI at the Coronation Ceremony

Back row l to r: Prince Axel of Denmark; Prince Fushimi-no-Miya of Japan; Prince Aage of Denmark; and Prince Erik of Denmark

Front row l to r: Prince Alexander of Teck (Earl of Athlone), England; Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia; Princess Marie of Sweden; Princess Alexander of Teck (Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone); Prince Valdemar of Denmark; Prince Vilhelm of Sweden

Another Royal Guest in attendance not in this group photograph was the Grand Duke Boris of Russia.
TIMETABLE OF EVENTS, 1911
28-29 November - Arrival of Foreign Royals at Samut Prakarn. Received by Representatives of the King and escorted to Bangkok by Royal yachts. At Rajaworadit Pier, the Royal Guests were received by the Prince of Bisnulok, the King's younger brother, and other Royals that may be close to the arriving guest. Officers of the Court, Ministries, and the Army were at the reception also. The royal guests then proceeded on a horse-drawn carriage to the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall, met the King and moved to the West Reception Room to meet Queen Sri Bajarindra to receive the Royal Decorations. They were then escorted to their residences accorded for the duration of their stay in Siam. Traditional Ceremonies were performed on these two days, and the Foreign Royals did not participate.
30 November - King Rama VI, Queen Sri Bajarindra and the Princess of Petchaburi formally received the Foreign Royals and representatives at the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall, and held a luncheon party at the Mulstan Boromma-art Hall, followed by tea at the Sommati Dhevaraj Upabat Hall for the Royals only. Other representatives waited in the Central Hall. In the evening, the Prince of Nakorn Chaisri hosted dinner for the Royals from Sweden, Russia and Great Britain, while Prince Dumrong Rajanuparp hosted dinner for the Royals from Denmark and Japan at their respective palaces.
1 December - Buddhist and Brahmin Ceremonies. In the evening, the Prince of Bisnulok hosted dinner for the Foreign Royals and representatives at Chitralada Garden.
2 December - In the morning Buddhist and Brahmin rites were performed with Foreign Guests in attendance. In the afternoon, the King and the guests went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha for another service. In the evening, King Rama VI hosted dinner for the Foreign Royals only at the Chakri Hall.
3 December - Ceremonies and meeting the public at the Royal Lawn (Sanam Luang) in front of the Grand Palace, and Buddhist ceremony at Bavorn Niwet Temple. In the evening, the Prince of Bisnulok hosted dinner for the Foreign Royals at his palace, and took them to see the lighting decorations on the main streets afterwards.
4 December - Royal Barge Procession from the Grand Palace to the Temple of Dawn, watched by the Foreign Royals and representatives at the Rajaworadit Pier. In the evening, the King hosted dinner at the Amarindra Vinitchai Hall.
5 December - Ceremonies at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and meeting the public at Sanam Luang. At night, there was a Khon Show for the guests.
6 December - The Prince of Lobburi hosted a luncheon for the Foreign Royals at his palace, followed by a ceremony at Sanam Luang. In the evening, the King hosted dinner for the Army and Royal Guests at the Boromma Ratchasatit Hall, before attending a dance party.
Above, the British and Swedish Princesses with Queen Sri Bajarindra, and a view of a ceremony at Sanam Luang, below.
7 December - Horse Parade at Sanam Luang, where Foreign Royals rode with the King. The Princesses of Sweden and Great Britain followed in a horse-drawn carriage with Queen Sri Bajarindra and the Princess of Petchaburi. The Ministry of Interior hosted dinner for the King and the Foreign Royals in the evening.
8 December - Chinese and Indian businessmen met with the King, while the Prince of Bisnulok took the Foreign Royals on a tour of the palaces in Ayudhya, and hosted a luncheon at Bang Pa-in Palace.
9 December - The Prince of Nakorn Sawan hosted a farewell luncheon for the Royals from Sweden, Russia and Great Britain at his palace while the Prince of Bisnulok hosted a farewell luncheon for the Japanese and Danish Royals at his palace. In the evening, the British Ambassador hosted dinner for the British Royals, while the Russian Ambassador hosted dinner for the Russian and Swedish Royals at their respected embassies. Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a farewell reception at the Royal Navy for the King and the Foreign Royals and representatives. There was also a Royal Barge show, where the Sri Suppanahongsa and the Anantanagaraj circled three times and gave salute, while fireworks went off all around.
10 December - The Royal Guests departed.  
Translated from "Receiving Foreign Guests the First Time by King Rama VI, pages 102-115, Art & Culture Magazine, 8 June 2549
Who were the Royals in the main group photograph above-left?
(standing l. to r.)

1. Prince Axel Christian Georg of Denmark (1888-1964), second son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark (see No. 9), grandson of Christian IX, King of Denmark (1818-1906), was married to Princess Margaretha Sofia Lovisa Ingeborg of Sweden (1899-1977).
2. Prince Fushimi-no-Miya of Japan (Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, 22nd Prince Fushimi-no-Miya) (1858-1923). The Fushimi-no-Miya is one of the four branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne.
3. Prince Aage Christian Alexander Robert of Denmark, Greve af Rosenborg (1887-1940), eldest son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark (see No. 9), grandson of Christian IX, King of Denmark (1818-1906), was married to Mathilde Emile Francesca Marie Calvi dei Conti di Bergolo (1885-1949).
4. Prince Erik Frederik Christian Alexander of Denmark (1890-1950), third son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark (see No. 9), grandson of Christian IX, King of Denmark (1818-1906), was married to Loïs Frances Booth (1897-1941) in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1924, divorced in 1937.
(seated l. to .r.)

5. Prince Alexander of Teck (Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone) (1874-1957), son of Francis, Duke of Teck and his wife, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, and youngest brother of Queen Mary, consort of King George V of Great Britain, married to Princess Alice of Albany (see No. 8).
6. Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (1877-1943), son of Grand Duke Vladimir ROMANOV and Grand Duchess Marie PAVLOVNA, and grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, married to Zenaida RASHEVSKA.
7. Princess Marie of Sweden (Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna of Russia) (1890-1958), daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, and grand daughter of Tsar of Russia Alexander II Nicholaievitch, was married to Prince Vilhelm of Sweden (No. 10).
8. Princess Alexander of Teck (Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone) (1883-1981), daughter of Prince Leopold of Great Britain and Ireland and Princess Helene zu Waldeck und Pyrmont, and granddaughter of Queen Victoria, married to Prince Alexander of Teck (see No. 5).
9. Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1858-1939), son of Christian IX, King of Denmark (1818-1906) and Luise, Princess of Hesse-Cassel (1817-1898), youngest brother of Frederik VIII, King of Denmark (1843-1912), was married to Princess Marie Amélie Françoise Hélène d'Orléans (1865-1909).
10. Prince Vilhelm of Sweden (1884-1965), son of King Gustaf V Adolf of Sweden and Princess Victoria von Baden, was married to Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna of Russia (ended in divorce). They had one son, Count Lennart Bernadotte af Wisborg.

 
BACK . SIAMESE ROYALTY