The Education of Thai Royalty in France: The Reign of King Rama V - Rama VII

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the education of Thai royalty in France for the period of the reign of King Rama V - Rama VII. The study revealed that the expansion of Western influence into Thailand and the demand for modernizing bureaucracy and civil servants to develop Thailand more broadly into a modern country were the two main factors of motivation of King Rama V to send Thai royalty to study abroad. Since then, Thai royalty studying abroad had become normal practice in the reigns of King Rama VI and King Rama VII continuously. The study found that initially, Thai royalty mainly studied in the fields of military studies and military affairs during the period of King Rama V through Rama VI. For example, His Highness Prince Prajadhipok Sakdidej studied at the School of Military Affairs (the Ecole de Guerre) and M.C. Samanlak Kitiyakorn studied at the School of the Artillery and Engineer Corps (Ecole d'application de L'artillerie et du génie) and the High-Level Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (Polytechnique) where competition for admission was fierce. Thereafter, during the period of King Rama VII, royalty increasingly went to study in France using their private funds. Interestingly, they studied in broadened fields, not only in the military and law, but also in the medical and industrial arts design. For example, M.R. Songsiri Srithavat studied at The Faculty of Sciences in Poitiers (Vienne) and M.C. Yachai Chitrapongs graduated from the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.