Appointed King Vajiravudh Appointed King Chulalongkorn Grandparents Mongkut, Debsirindra | Successor Arun Chatrakul House Chakri dynasty | |
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In office 11 December 1910 - 4 February 1913 Predecessor Bhanurangsi Savangwongse In office 8 August 1901 - 11 December 1910 Died 2 April 1913, Bangkok, Thailand Cousins Kornnika Chitrabhongse Uncles Narisara Nuwattiwong, Damrong Rajanubhab Similar Vudhijaya Chalermlabha, Chulalongkorn, Kitiyakara Voralaksana, Benbadhanabongse, Yugala Dighambara | ||
Field Marshal Prince Chirapravati Voradej, Prince of Nakhon Chaisi (Thai: พระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าจิรประวัติวรเดช กรมหลวงนครไชยศรีสุรเดช) was a prince of the Chakri Dynasty and influential military officer of Siam. The prince was a son of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and Chao Chom Manda Thapthim Rochanatisha, he was the king's 17th child.
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The prince was part of the first group of the king's sons sent to Europe to study, spending time there from 1885 - 1896. After his return to Siam, he served as the Commander of the Department of Military Operation (Commander of the Army) and Minister of Defence under his father and his brother, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI). Because of his important and modernising reforms of the Royal Siamese Army, he is now considered the 'Father of the Thai Army'. His descendants uses the surname Chirapravati (จิรประวัติ ณ อยุธยา).
Birth
Prince Chirapravati Voradej was born on 7 November 1876 at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The 17th child of King Chulalongkorn and Chao Chom Manda (consort mother) Thapthim Rochanatisha. The king and Thapthim would have two children more children: Princess Praves Vorasamai (1879-1944) and Prince Vudhijaya Chalermlabha (1883-1947). He was given the title of Phra Ong Chao upon birth, which signified his birth as a son of a king and a commoner mother.
Education
The prince was educated in the palace's inner court, once he was older he was educated at the royal pages school (Suankularb Wittayalai School). In 1885 the prince together with three elder brothers (the king's four eldest), Princes Kitiyakara Voralaksana, Rabi Badhanasakdi, and Pravitra Vadhanodom were sent to the United Kingdom for further study. The four princes were the first of the king's (many) sons to be sent abroad for study. Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis wrote in his diary on the 30 June 1885:
A military focus was selected for the prince and in 1891 he went to Denmark to study at the Royal Danish Military Academy. He was commissioned as a cadet and then promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He graduated from the academy in 1894. After further study in the artillery corps he was able to served in the Royal Danish Army from 1896.
Work in the army
After his return to Siam, the prince advised King Chulalongkorn on the creation of a permanent general staff for the Royal Siamese Army. As a result, he was appointed its first Chief of staff in 1898. In the same year his father also made him a Privy Councillor. In 1899 he was given the additional role of Secretary of the Army and Commander of the Regiment of the King's Own Bodyguard.
In 1901, at the age of 34 he was appointed Commander of the Department of Military Operation (equivalent to the Commander of the Army). In 1903 the prince was instrumental in the effort to reform the army by creating a system of regional conscription and training. In 1905 the prince introduced the western concepts of organising the army into regiments, divisions and army corps. He began by creating ten infantry divisions and founding many new regiments.
After the death of his father in 1910, he was appointed by the new king, his younger brother, Vajiravudh as the Minister of Defence. In 1911 he was promoted to the rank of Field marshal (the highest rank in the army), the second such appointment in Siam. As minister, in 1912 the prince approved the sending of three trainee pilots to train in France, presaging the foundation of the Royal Thai Air Force. The prince suffered from many illnesses and spent much of the last year of his life recuperating in Europe. The prince died in office on 4 February 1913, at the age of 36.
Family
The prince married twice. His wives were sisters. Firstly on 12 August 1898 to Mom Chao Pravas Svasti Sonakul (25 December 1883 - 11 December 1902). They had two daughters and one son.
Secondly on 28 April 1904 to Mom Chao Sumornmalya Sonakul (14 April 1888 - 22 February 1940), They had two sons.