For ancient feudal dynasties or modern constitutional monarchies, the last prophecy that they want to hear is undoubtedly the demise of the dynasty, but it often backfires. Such prophecies often appear as the dynasty continues. Nowadays, the prophecy that "whoever takes my throne will die in ten lifetimes" is spread among the Thai people, and this prophecy is like a curse that accompanies the Bangkok Dynasty in Thailand. The Bangkok Dynasty, also known as the Chakri Dynasty in history, became a constitutional monarchy due to a coup in 1932. However, Thailand has never been able to form a thorough system between "monarchy" and "constitutionalism". The current The King of Thailand is the richest king in the world and the real power behind Thailand.
Let’s get back to business and return to Thailand’s prophecy of “Whoever takes my throne will die in ten lifetimes”. The story about this language has to be told from the Ming Dynasty. As Zheng He led the Ming Dynasty treasure ships to the Western Ocean seven times, the horizons of the Chinese people were opened. Since then, more and more people along the southeast coast of China have gone to sea to seek life in order to make a living. In order to get ahead, a local farmer named Zheng Yong in Chenghai County, Guangdong also went to sea with his friends from the same village to Southeast Asia to look for opportunities to make a fortune. Zheng Yong was quite lucky. He made a lot of money in Siam (the ancient name of Thailand), married a local woman in Siam, and gave birth to a son named Zheng Xin (also called Taksin). Since then, Zheng Yong and his family have settled in Siam.
Later, with the help of his adoptive father, Zheng Xin became a palace guard in the Kingdom of Siam, and rose to prominence and became a city lord (a local official in Thailand). Later, he was appointed as Kamphaeng because of his merits. Lord of Phuc City (an important city in Siam). Just before Zheng Xin went to Kamphaeng Phetch to take up his post, the Burmese army began to invade Siam on a large scale. Later, the Burmese army defeated and annexed Siam. Unwilling to fail, Taksin continued to organize forces to resist the Burmese along the southeastern coast of Thailand, and eventually drove the Burmese out of Thailand and established the Thonburi Dynasty of Thailand. Taksin became the founding king of the Thonburi Dynasty of Thailand. .
During his reign, Taksin was diligent and caring for the people, and was deeply loved by the Thai people at that time. In order to commemorate Taksin's achievements, people in Thailand designated December 28 (the day Taksin ascended the throne) every year as "Zhenghuang Festival" expresses admiration for Zheng Xin. But Taksin's fate was not good. On a dark and stormy night when he was forty-eight years old, a coup occurred in the Thonburi dynasty. Taksin was killed in the coup, and the Thonburi dynasty perished. According to legend, the person who initiated the coup and executed Taksin was Taksin’s general and son-in-law, Chao Phraya Chakri. After the coup was successful, Chao Phraya Chakri ordered the warriors to put Taksin into a sack and kill him with a wooden stick. Before his death, Zheng Xin cursed loudly: Whoever takes my throne will die in ten lifetimes. After Taksin's death, Chao Phraya Chakri became the new king of Thailand, and the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand was established. Soon after Chao Phraya Chakri (known as Rama I in history) took the throne, he moved the capital to Bangkok. Therefore, historians are also accustomed to referring to Thailand's Chakri Dynasty as Thailand's Bangkok Dynasty.
After the establishment of the Bangkok Dynasty in Thailand, the succession of the thrones of the previous Thai kings was relatively smooth. The Thai king is a unique autocratic ruler in Thailand. In 1932, due to a coup, King Rama VII of Thailand was forced to hand over most of the country's power. Thailand implemented a constitutional monarchy, and the King of Thailand became the symbolic head of state. On March 2, 1935, Rama VII was forced to step down due to political differences with the Prime Minister. His nephew Rama VIII became the new King of Thailand. The embarrassing thing is that he was not crowned, which is equivalent to not officially ascending the throne. On June 9, 1946, Rama VIII was found dead in the palace, and his younger brother Bhumibol Adulyadej succeeded to the throne, also known as Rama IX Bhumibol.
Bhumibol succeeded to the throne when King Rama VIII died in 1946. He was only 18 years old that year. He has been studying in Switzerland until 1950, when the domestic situation in Thailand stabilized slightly, and he did not return. He went to Thailand to complete the coronation ceremony, and then went to Switzerland again to study. After Bhumibol graduated in Switzerland in 1951, he officially returned to Thailand and became the official king. In the first few years after Bhumibol first arrived in Thailand, Thailand had been undergoing frequent military coups. Bhumibol also cleverly seized the opportunity and began to gradually cultivate his own power in the military, which gradually gained the power of the Thai royal family. After that, the power of the Thai king was gradually strengthened. After Bhumibol took control of the Thai government, he did not directly come to the forefront. Instead, he always stayed behind the scenes and worked hard to maintain Thailand's political stability. This not only created a stable environment for Thailand's development, but also won supreme authority for himself.
In the late period of Bhumibol's rule, the Thai army was actually in the hands of the king. We all know that the various parties in Thailand are very fierce in fighting. If things go too far, the military will launch a coup and reshuffle the government to form a government. This is actually controlled by the King of Thailand, who is the actual controller of Thailand's military and political power. In addition, Bhumibol was selected as "the richest monarch in the world" by a world-famous magazine because he owns Thailand's largest cement company, the third largest commercial bank and large land ownership in the core of Bangkok, and holds shares in well-known companies around the world. , and his company does not need to pay taxes or be audited in Thailand, and its profits are not turned over to the national treasury. On October 13, 2016, Rama IX Bhumibol passed away. On December 1, his son Vajiralongkorn completed the enthronement ceremony and became the new king of Thailand, Rama X.
Rama X’s name is Maha Vajiralongkorn. He grew up in the palace. He has been studying in Europe since he was a teenager and lived a carefree aristocratic life. Life. Logically speaking, after Rama X ascended the throne and became the King of Thailand, he should live in the palace, or at least stay in Thailand most of the time. However, Rama X is an exception. He basically lives in Germany now. , I rarely return home if there is nothing important. In addition, Rama X also has a lot of love life and gossip news. According to statistics, he has been married five times, divorced three times, and has 8 children. This is the first time he has made it public since Thailand achieved a constitutional monarchy in 1932. A king who married many wives.
Nowadays, the romantic anecdotes of King Rama X have become one of the favorite topics of discussion among people around the world after dinner. In addition, Rama X is also very slovenly. In various news reports, we also see that Rama X is also very casual in his dressing requirements. A white vest and low-waisted jeans are also his regular wear. It can be seen that Rama X is very casual. Rama X is indeed a true man of temperament, and his lack of moral integrity has now become synonymous with Rama X.
Due to the outbreak of the new crown epidemic this year, Thailand’s tourism industry has been severely affected, the economy has plummeted, and the contradictions that were concealed by economic growth in the past have begun to be exposed and intensified. As for the Thai royal family, they have endless wealth. According to relevant statistics, the Thai royal family has more than 30 billion US dollars in assets, and these are only on the surface, and the private ones are even more incalculable. Rama X had no worries about food and clothing since he was a child, and he was away from home all year round. He did not understand the sufferings of the Thai people.
However, today, when information technology is so developed, Thai people can often see the extravagant and luxurious life of their country's king and various gossip rumors through their mobile phones, so the dissatisfaction in Thailand begins to grow. King Rama X has been unable to convince the public, and a large number of people have begun to take to the streets to demonstrate and openly oppose the government and the royal family. The "unpopularity" of King Rama X of Thailand has reached a record low. Someone even mentioned that "the Chakri dynasty died in the tenth generation." If Rama X does not rein in his ways, maybe the person who fulfills the prophecy of "death in ten lives" will really be himself.