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I met Princess Ubolratana two years ago at the Silver Screen Room in Los Angeles. She is 27, I
thought at first. Then we started talking, and I thought that she might be 30, tops.
Her stunning beauty was equal to her grace, and she kindly granted me a short interview.
She even showed sincere interest in my European roots, and asked me if I was stationed in L.A.
When I mentioned that I live in Palm Springs, the princess’ face lit up. “It’s a
beautiful place,” she commented. I retorted: “But, Your Royal Highness, Bangkok is an amazing place too.”
It happened, as you can see on the photo, that a step behind Princess Ubolratana was Madam Governor
Juthamas Siriwan, Thai Minister of Tourism.
And so since then I have visited Bangkok twice as a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand during
the Bangkok International Film Festival, led by my dear friend and Palm Springs resident, Craig Prater. In 2005, I saw the princess again at the Closing Night of the
Film Festival held in the Auditorium of Royal Thai Navy on the banks of Chao Phraya River. This time there was full royal protocol.
The princess’ throne was not facing the audience, so the people who wanted to see her had to go around
and pay respects. I remember, when she entered the auditorium, the only sound one could hear was the brushing of her long elegant dress against the carpet, while she vigorously walked to the throne.
By this time, to my disbelief, I had already discovered that Princess Ubolratana was born on April 5,
1951, and was the eldest child of Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Thailand. In December of 2004, when the tsunami struck the Asian coast, Princess Ubolratana lost her the only son, beloved Khun Poom.
Currently, after a period of mourning, the princess has returned to her full royal duties and has embarked upon many noble activities on behalf of the Thai people, especially directly dealing with the drug problems
in the kingdom.
The Princess’ Tragedy
Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana had a bad feeling about her
planned trip to Phuket, a popular coastal tourist destination in the southern part of the kingdom. The Princess felt uncomfortable and almost decided not to go, but it was a holiday season and her children were excited about the trip.
“I didn’t really want to go, but it was Christmas and the kids wanted to go, and I wanted to spend time
with them,” she said.
Princess Ubolratana always did everything for her three children—daughters Ploypailin and Sirikitiya and son Khun Poom. And, she was always working on various projects that support the interests of Thai people.
In fact, for Christmas, the local authorities at the Khao Lak area of Phang Nga province wanted to use
the princess’ presence to open a new hotel in Thailand’s’ tourist Mecca on the Andaman Coast.
Fate had it that the princess brushed aside her second thoughts about the trip and decided to help promote the tourist image of her country. Her presence at the resort was the greatest possible PR the hotel could have.
Princess Ubolratana knew how much her son loved to jet-ski, and La Flora Resort hotel was perfect for
aquatic activities. As a dedicated and caring mother, the princess bravely and publicly supported her son’s bout with autism.
She fought the disease, always alongside her son who was struggling, but winning the battle with autism. He was doing well in sports, and making progress in activities to improve his other skills. The princess was proud of her son’s efforts.
Khun Poom was 21 and had a wonderful nature.
The people of Thailand adored him. The Princess called him Poomi, and he was also addresed as Khun Bhumi by the media and many Thais as well.
On the Christmas day, he received some nice gifts from his mother.
They were already at Khao Lak, and he was eager to go jet-skiing the next day. It was supposed to be a great Boxing Day for him. The princess saved the last of three gifts for her son for that afternoon.
Later, the princess recalled how her son was so happy to receive the Nintendo hand-held game as her
Christmas gift, that he sent her an SMS message on a cell phone to express his joy.
The morning of December 26 was sunnny and the water was calm. It was a perfect day.
In front of La Flora, everything was set for the princess’ son to enjoy his jet-ski ride. His bodyguards already boarded the life boat and two policemen on the shore were waiting to escort Khun Poom to the water. There were no warning signs that a tsunami was heading toward the Asian coast that tragic Sunday.
Before he left, Khun Poom cheerfully kissed his mother on the cheek.
It was not a goodbye kiss, just a quick peck. She watched her son as he took off jet-skiing in front of the hotel followed by his bodyguards on a lifeboat.
Within minutes, the disaster of catastrophic proportions struck throughout the whole region.
It all happened so suddenly and so fast. Earlier an earthquake in Sumatra created a huge wave. And now it was approaching the coast of Thailand and nobody could stop it.
The princess’ bodyguards reacted quickly and alarmed her and her daughter.
There was no time to waste. Their duty was to save the princess. They surrounded her and started moving toward a building.
As the big wave was rising on the horizon, Princess Ubolratana looked over her shoulder and saw her
beloved son, Khun Poom, fleeing the beach accompanied by two policemen. She believed he was safe. The tsunami was three stories high, and the princess’ bodyguards urged her to move faster. The princess
and her younger daughter Sirikitiya, together with their entourage, ran for their lives. The wave was chasing them up to the fourth floor of the five-story building.
When the water finally retreated, the princess started desperately searching for her son.
“I left the building and tried to find my dearest Poomi. I was walking through mud until I was covered with it,” recounts HRH Princess Ubolratana.
The first official report that reached the cabinet of Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, stated
that the grandson of His Majesty The King was missing. The report date was December 26, 2004. On that day thousands of people perished when the wave hit the Andaman Coast in Southern Thailand. The two
policemen that were spotted escorting Khun Poom were found injured and stranded on two different buildings where the water had washed them.
The authorities launched the search immediately hoping that Khun Poom was trapped in nearby buildings or hills.
“I believed that my son survived,” the Princess remembered. “I never thought that my son would be dead,
because the two policemen that were with him survived. I continued the search and then my brother, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, came to my aid,” the Princess stated. “We searched and struggled through the
mud the whole night.” The princess’ brother, a highly decorated military man himself, flew in from Bangkok personally piloting his airplane. Together, the prince and princess, but now just brother and
sister, searched tirelessly for Khun Poom as the daylight of December 27 emerged.
At 10 a.m., on December 27, the rescue team found the body of Khun Poom about 100 meters from where he
was last seen. The Princess was heartbroken. The tsunami had taken his life.
This strong woman who fought so bravely for her children’s happiness could not take it anymore.
The pain was too great. She could not bear to see her son’s body. Not now. Her brother, the Crown Prince of Thailand identified the body on behalf of Princess Ubolratana.
The body of Khun Poom was brought to Royal Thai Air Force base in Bangkok on a special flight piloted
by his uncle, the Crown Prince.
Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra announced Khun Poom’s tragic death on national TV at 3:42 p.m. that afternoon. His Majesty the King of Thailand bestowed royal funeral rites to Khun Poom under his patronage. The seven-day Buddhist service was held at the Royal Palace.
At the bathing ceremony the princess trimmed her sons’s hair, keeping a lock for remembrance.
After the first day of funeral rites for Khun Poom, the princess was quoted as saying that the last kiss her son gave her will remain forever in her memory.
“Actually, I still have one more gift to give him,” she said tearfully. The princess claimed she
was fortunate to survive the tsunami, but at the same time added that she was not lucky enough.
While Khun Poom was alive, he could always be seen walking side by side with his mother.
His air of happiness was often cited as proof of what love could do for autistic children.
“I will no longer have him by my side, never again,” said the Princess. “I can only hope to get
through this tragedy by working harder for the benefit and happiness of the Thai people.”
Khun Poom was the only member of the Thai royal family to lose his life in the tsunami disaster that swept the Asian coast in 2004. -
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