About 500 Chonburi civil servants, police and military officers paid homage to King Rama III and saluted the province’s government workers in a dual-purpose ceremony.
Gov. Khomsan Ekachai presided over March 31 event to commemorate the man depicted on the back of the 500-baht note, as well as mark Civil Servants Day.
Gov. Khomsan Ekachai presides over an event to pay homage to King Rama III and salute the province’s government workers.
Rama III, or Chetsadabodin Phra Nang Klao Chao Yu Hua, ruled Siam from 1824 until his death in 1851. His ascension to the throne was controversial at the time in that he was the son of a concubine, not a queen, and became king ahead of legitimate heir Prince Mongkut, who succeeded him in 1851.
Rama III’s reign was marked by raging wars with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and the king, before his death, predicted that two of those countries would fall to western powers. He also founded a government emergency fund Thailand would later use to pay off France to retain its sovereignty.
