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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XII, 2020

5. The Idea of a “Modern Siam” – King Prajatibok as a Siamese “Honourary
Diplomat” in Europe

The reasons for the overseas trips of King Prajatibok 1931 and 1934
were similar to each other in some ways. The voyages were made for health
reasons. But in 1934, King Prajatibok has a new status, not being the King of an

absolute monarchy, but of a constitutional one. Since the 1932 revolution, King
Prajatibok's dignity was undermined to a great extent by anti-royalists jostling
for political power in Siam.
Queen Rambai Barni played an important role during the visit to Europe
in 1934 as far as the promotion of the image of Siam abroad was concerned,
as many European newspapers, especially Danish ones, noted:

“...Their Majesties are very small... They come across as simple,
polite, graceful, with a special charisma... ”
23
“...The Queen of Siam is rather small and sporty; she likes to smile
and does so often”
24
A Czech newspaper wrote:

“King Prajatibok had been described, amongst other, as a very
progressive monarch and a reformer...”, and about Queen Rambai
Barni's dress:

“…many of the onlookers were not a little surprised, when they saw
the King in a dark suit, and the Queen in a tasteful gray dress with fur
boa, instead of fancy colourful Asian costumes, and a top hat and a small
gray hat with a ribbon respectively, instead of royal crown on their
heads.”
25

In: Danish newspaper Dagens Nyheder, 25 June 1934, press bureau, document of the Foreign
23
Ministry, Copenhagen, Denmark.
In: First page of Belgian newspaper, L’ independence Belge, julliet 1934, topic: The arrival of Their
24
Majesties the King and Queen at the Northern Station in Brussels, with a photograph of Their
Majesties and King Leopold III of Belgium in uniform.
25 In: Boussard, Pierre A., Šitler, Jiří, Dr. u.a. (eds.), 2004. Siam Undiscovered, Czech-Thai encounters
between the 16 and 21 centuries: rare documents, old photographs, royal visits, With the
th
th
compliments of the Czech Embassy to the Kingdom of Thailand. In cooperation with the
Czech Embassy in Bangkok, the Institute of International Relations in Prague, the Náprstek
Museum in Prague and the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Thailand, 64-65.

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