His Majesty King Prajadhipok (Rama VII, royal name Phra Pokklao Chaoyuhua) (November 8, 1893 - May 30, 1941) was the seventh king of the Chakri dynasty, and was the last absolute monarch of Thailand.

One of history's tragic figures, Prajadhipok was born November 8, 1893 in Bangkok as the last and youngest son of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and Queen Sri Patcharindra.

Prajadhipok's was the shortest, and probably the most controversial, reign in the history of the Chakri Dynasty. On the one hand, the short history of this reign is the story of the movement of great historical forces - of political aspirations, public opinion, social and political mobilisation, and economic modernisation - while, on the other hand, it is very much the story of individuals and personalities and their effect upon historical events.

Educated at Eton College and the Woolwich Military Academy in England, and later on in the Ecole Superieure de Guerre in France, Prajadhipok returned to Siam in 1924 to find himself rising rapidly up the ladder of succession to the throne. When his brother, King Vajiravhud died in 1925, he was made king, at the young age of thirty-two.

Unprepared for his new responsibilities, all Prajadhipok had in his favour was a lively intelligence, a certain diplomacy in his dealings with others, a modesty and industrious willingness to learn, and the somewhat tarnished, but still potent, magic of the crown.

The initial legacy that Prajadhipok received from his elder brother was problems, of the sort that had become chronic in the Sixth Reign. The most urgent of these was economic: the finances of the state were in chaos, the budget heavily in deficit, and the royal accounts an accountant's nightmare of debts and questionable transactions.

Virtually the first act of Prajadipok as king entailed an institutional innovation intended to restore confidence in the monarchy and government, the creation of the Supreme Council of the State. This privy council was made up of a number of experienced and extremely competent members of the royal family, including the long time Minister of the Interior (and King Chulalongkorn's right hand man) Prince Damrong Rajanubhab. With the help of this council, the King managed to restore stability to the economy.

King Prajadhipok then turned his attention to the question of future politics in Siam. Inspired by the British example, the King wanted to allow the common people to have a say in the country's affair by the creation of a parliament. A proposed constitution was ordered to be drafted, but the King's wishes were rejected by his advisors, who felt that the population was not yet ready for democracy.

On March 2, 1935, the great champion of democracy, King Prajadhipok abdicated. When doing so, he issued a brief public message criticising the regime that included the following phrase, since often quoted by critics of Thailand's slow political development:

I am willing to surrender the powers I formerly exercised to the people as a whole, but I am not willing to turn them over to any individual or any group to use in an autocratic manner without heeding the voice of the people.

External link

• King Prajadhipok museum (http://www.kpi.ac.th/museum/index.asp?version=en)