Sunandha Kumariratana

Who was Sunandha Kumariratana?

Sunandha Kumariratana was a daughter of King Mongkut and Princess Consort Piam. Her given name is Princess Sunandha Kumariratana. She was a half-sister and the first queen consort and one of four queens of King Chulalongkorn, two of which were her full-sibling younger sisters, Queen Savang Vadhana and Queen Saovabha Bhongsi.

The queen and her daughter drowned when the royal boat capsized while on the way to the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace. Despite the presence of many onlookers, they were forbidden on pain of death to touch the queen – not even to save her life. The grief-stricken Chulalongkorn later erected a memorial to her and his unborn child at the Bang Pa-In Palace.