he way that some royalties have died in the past is quite questionable and mysterious, however when it comes to deaths that could have been easily averted the cake goes to Queen Sunandha Kumariratana from the 19th century. The queen as well as her daughter and son were as some historians mention “destined” too early death due to a law implied towards the royalties from Thailand.

Queen Sunandha was born in 1860 and at an early age, she was married to King Rama V (also known as King Chulalongkorn). Queen Sunandha gave birth at the early age of 19 to her daughter as well as her son, but only if she knew that her husband would write down the faith of them both, she would have probably wished she never had that child.

The foundation of Modern Thailand

King Rama V made some big changes towards making Thailand a better place for its inhabitants. Some of the laws enforced by him were the complete abolishment of slavery as well as the reinforcement of trade in order to empower the economy. Another major change was pushing back the western colonial powers and allowing the country to be less influenced by the west and consolidate more on it’s original traditions and way of life.

Some of the laws from medieval times were lifted as they were stupid and didn’t make sense in such modern times when people started to become more civilized. However, some of the older laws were overlooked and never abolished and this is because neither the king nor his associates thought of the implications some laws could have on people, especially on royalties.

The King was always fighting in the best interest of the people of Thailand, as well as carrying for his royal family, something that should tell you that he never wanted to be at some fault for the death of his wife or children

One very important law that was overlooked by him was an old law that implied that no one apart from royal family members are allowed to touch the royal family (except some people close to the royal family). If a normal citizen would touch the Queen, he would be sentenced to death for simply touching the Queen or any member of the royal family for that matter.

How did the Queen and her children die?

On the 31st of May, 1880, the Queen and her daughter as well as soon took off to the summer residence of the royal family, located in Bang Pa-In. In order to reach their destination, they had to cross the Chao Phraya River, one of the biggest rivers in the whole of Thailand. The problem was that the river was very furious, making it dangerous for even the best captain to pass.

The royalties were escorted in the royal boat, which everyone thought was strong enough to withstand the currents on the river, but sadly when a stronger current struck the boat turned upside down. The Queen as well as her children didn’t know how to swim, however, the boat crew, as well as all of the servants, were close enough to help.

However, no one helped them as that would have meant their certain death due to the law. It is extremely sad to think of such a cruel reality. How a hand full of people stared as a mother and her children drowned whilst everyone was able to save them, but at what price?

Everyone else survived apart from the royalties. When faced with the news, King Rama V was not happy with how his servants understood to apply this stupid law. That is why all of the people who were able to save the Queen were thrown in prison for life.

Due to being so heartbroken, the King organized one of the most expensive funerals in history for his Queen and children. After this event, King Rama V abolished this stupid law and made it so that it could never be reinstated within Thailand for the sake of future royal family members.