Lords of Life

HRH Prince Chula Chakrabongse, well known in his lifetime as an author and broadcaster, was in a uniquely favourable position for writing the history of the Royal House of Chakri, the current Thai royal dynasty. He had access to unpublished royal letters, archives and documents of all kinds and, as a grandson of King Chulalongkorn, he had personal knowledge of many of the leading figures in his story. Therefore he was able to give an authoritative and quite fascinating account of the monarchs who were the absolute rulers of Siam for 150 years, who re-established Thai culture and the Buddhist religion after the fall of Ayutthaya and, through skilful diplomacy, preserved Siamese autonomy at a time when her neighbours were giving way before the spread of Western imperialism.

Fifty years after it was first published, this revised edition preserves Prince Chula’s text in its entirety, but has a new foreword by B. J. Terwiel, footnotes explaining developments in Thai historiography and a wealth of archive photographs.