Chula Chakrabongse

Chula Chakrabongse (Thai: จุลจักรพงษ์; RTGS: Chunlachakkraphong; 28 March 1908 – 30 December 1963), was a member of the family of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand and of the House of Chakkraphong. He was the only child of Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath and his Ukrainian wife Ekaterina Desnitskaya (Ukrainian: Катери́на Іва́нівна Десни́цька), later Mom Catherine Na Phitsanulok). He was a grandson of King Chulalongkorn.

Chula Chakrabongse
Born(1908-03-28)28 March 1908
Paruskavan Palace, Bangkok, Siam
Died30 December 1963(1963-12-30) (aged 55)
Cornwall, England
SpouseElisabeth Curling Hunter
IssueNarisa Chakrabongse
HouseChakrabongse family (Chakri Dynasty)
FatherChakrabongse Bhuvanath
MotherKateryna Desnytska
Signature
Military career
Allegiance Thailand
Service/branchRoyal Thai Army
Rank Major General[1]

Early life
Prince Chula with Elizabeth Hunter in 1936

Prince Chula Chakrabongse was born on 28 March 1908 in Paruskavan Palace, Bangkok, with the title Mom Chao (His Serene Highness). Saovabha Phongsri, his grandmother, gave him the name Phongchak (พงษ์จักร; RTGS: Phongchak). Later his uncle, King Vajiravudh, raised him the higher rank of Phra Chao Worawong Thoe Phra Ong Chao (His Royal Highness Prince) and changed his name to Chunlachakkraphong. Palace officials affectionately called him "the Little Prince" (ท่านพระองค์หนู Than Phraong Nu).

When very young, Prince Chula was sent to study in the United Kingdom, where he spent his teenage years, attending Harrow School. He graduated with Bachelor and Master from Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

There is a granite drinking bowl at Mitchem’s Corner in Cambridge, donated in 1934 in memory of Prince Chula’s dog called Tony.

Later life

In 1938 he married Elizabeth Hunter, an English woman (known as Lisba). Their daughter, Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabhongse, was born in 1956.[2] [3] They lived at Tredethy, St Mabyn, in Cornwall in the 1940s and 1950s.[4]

When Prince Chula's cousin Prince Birabongse Bhanudej ("B. Bira") went to England in 1927, Chula was supervising a racing team called White Mouse Racing.[5] Prince Bira decided to drive for him.

In 1936 Chula's White Mouse team purchased an ERA for Bira, and he quickly became one of the leading exponents of this class of international racing. Bira's partnership with Chula ended in late 1948.

Prince Chula was the author of thirteen books, including a history of the Chakri Dynasty, a biography about the race-car driver Richard Seaman and an autobiography. One notable book Prince Chula wrote in 1935, “Wheels At Speed,” recorded his cousin Bira’s first try as a race-car driver. The book was originally intended as a book for only friends and family, but after a few copies went public, interest in the book, increased. Publishers G. T. Foulis re-issued the book ten years after it was first written. MG aficionados will enjoy Wheels at Speed.

Prince Chula died of cancer in 1963 at the age of 55.

Honours

Thai

Foreign

Works
Autobiography
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1989). Koet Wang Parut เกิดวังปารุสก์ [Born in Parut Palace] (PDF) (in Thai) (10th ed.). Bangkok: Phitsanulok Publishing. ISBN 9748693856.
  • Chula Chakrabongse (1957). The Twain Have Met: Or, an Eastern Prince Came West. Foulis. OCLC 11760365.
Other works

References
  1. http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2502/D/087/2148_1.PDF
  2. Soravij. "Chakrabongse". Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  3. HRH Prince Chula CHAKRABONGSE. genealogy.rootsweb.com
  4. "New Zealand Cornish Association newsletter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  5. His Highness (Pra Worawongse Ther Pra Ong Chao) Prince Birabongse Bhanutej
  6. "PRINCE OF SIAM VISITS KING, Invested With Order". Central Queensland Herald. 10 February 1938. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. "London Gazette". 15 January 1960. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
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