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Stories through Photographs: The Royal Duties in Foreign Affairs of

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua*

Professor Kittikhun Pornsan Tmangraksat, PhD

Fellow of the Academy of Arts,
The Royal Society of Thailand

The cultivation of diplomatic relations with foreign nations through royal visits by
the King of Siam, or Thailand, to leaders across Asia, Europe, and the United States has

a long historical legacy. This tradition began during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
of the Chakri Dynasty and has been consistently upheld by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn

Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua since his tenure as Crown Prince. It is a clear continuation of
the royal duties performed by the monarchs of the Chakri Dynasty.

After ascending the throne, King Chulalongkorn’s first overseas visit was to Singapore,
Semarang, Malaya (modern-day Malaysia), and the cities of Java Islands for 47 days in 1870.

In 1872, he also visited India. His most notable journey was to Europe in 1897, a significant
diplomatic effort to safeguard Siam’s independence amidst the colonial ambitions of European

powers. During this trip, His Majesty personally presented himself in multiple countries.
Siam was no longer an exotic, Faraway land – it was a real place. The Europeans and the

European Houses acknowledged and respected King Chulalongkorn as equal to the crowned
heads of Europe – as a genuinely ‘civilized’ man. With the King’s trip, Siam and the countries of

Europe entered a new era in diplomatic, political and cultural relations with many new European
countries. It required ingenuity on the part of the King to preserve Siamese sovereignty and

prevent the Western Powers, from laying claim to the Kingdom of Siam during colonialism,
particularly with the assistance of Siam’s two major allies - Russia and Germany - to counterbalance,

chiefly the power of Great Britain and the French Republic.
1

* This is an English version adapted from the article with the same title in Thai published in the book
“The Royal Institution and Academic Advancement of the Nation” (สถาบัันพระมหากษััตริย์์กับัวิิวิัฒนาการทาง
วิิชาการของประเทศ).
1 See details in Pornsan Watanangura, Tosaporn Kasikam, 2010, Research Report, “Very Good” Award,
Ratchadaphisek Somphot Fund 2009, Relations between the Kingdom of Siam and the Royal Houses of
Europe in Documents Pertaining to King Chulalongkorn’s First Visit to Europe in 1897, Research project
funded by the Research Division, Chulalongkorn University. The research work was published by
the Research Division, Chulalongkorn University on the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of the passing of
King Chulalongkorn, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.

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