Ananda Mahidol

He eventually succeeded to the throne in 1910 as King Rama VI.

In 1924 the king instituted the Palace Law of Succession in order to govern subsequent successions.

The law gave priority to the children of his mother Queen Regent Saovabha Phongsri over the children of King Chulalongkorn's two other royal wives.

Ananda Mahidol (20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946) was the eighth King of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII.

King Vajiravudh, his uncle, sent a telegram on 13 October 1925 giving him this name, which means "the joy of Mahidol".

When he held his birth rank of Mom Chao—the lowest rank of Thai princes—he used the surname Mahidol, his father's given name.

His full name and title was thus Mom Chao Ananda Mahidol Mahidol (หม่อมเจ้าอานันทมหิดล มหิดล).

With his accession, he became known as Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua Ananda Mahidol (สมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวอานันทมหิดล).

Somdet Phra Chao Yu Hua is the title of a Thai king prior to coronation.

After his death, King Bhumibol Adulyadej posthumously renamed him to elevate his title to that of a crowned king.

The law was enacted on the death of King Vajiravudh in 1925 and the crown passed to his youngest brother, Prince Prajadhipok of Sukhothai.

Offering the throne to Prince Prajadhipok was not without a debate.

In doing so, another candidate was bypassed: Prince Chula Chakrabongse, son of the late Field Marshal Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath of Phitsanulok, who before his death had been the heir-apparent to King Vajiravudh.

It was questioned whether the Succession Law enacted by King Vajiravudh actually barred Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (and for that matter, Prince Chula Chakrabongse) from succession on the grounds that he married a foreigner (Russian).

However, his marriage had taken place before this law was enacted and had been endorsed by King Chulalongkorn himself.

There was no clear resolution, but in the end the many candidates were passed over and Prince Prajadhipok was enthroned.

When King Prajadhipok later abdicated, since he was the last remaining son of Queen Saovabha, the crown went back to the sons of the queen whose rank was next to hers: Queen Savang Vadhana, mother of the late Crown Prince Vajirunahis.

He went with his parents to Paris, Lausanne, and then to Massachusetts, when in 1927, his uncle, King Prajadhipok, issued a royal edict elevating him to the higher princely class of Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao (this edict also benefited other "Mom Chao" who were the children of Chao Fa and their commoner wives, among them his elder sister Mom Chao Galyani Vadhana and his younger brother who was born later that year Phra Worawong Ther Phra Ong Chao Bhumibol Adulyadej).

The family returned to Thailand in 1928 after Prince Mahidol finished his medical studies at Harvard University.

Prince Mahidol died at age 37 in 1929, when Ananda Mahidol was just four years old.

His widowed mother was thus left to raise her family alone.

He briefly attended Debsirin School in Bangkok before the revolution in 1932 ended the absolute monarchy and raised the possibility that King Prajadhipok might abdicate.

Queen Savang Vadhana, his grandmother, was concerned about Prince Ananda Mahidol's safety, since he was one of the likely heirs to the throne.

It was then suggested that Mom Sangwal and her children return to Lausanne, and when they did so in 1933, the official reason given was for the health and further education of the princes.

Prince Ananda Mahidol spent most of his youth in Switzerland.

However, when King Prajadhipok's abdication appeared imminent, the prince's mother was approached by a member of the government, asking for her opinion about Ananda Mahidol succeeding as monarch.

At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland.

King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) abdicated in 1935 due to political quarrels with the new quasi-democratic government as well as health problems.

The king decided to abstain from exercising his prerogative to name a successor to the throne.

By that time, the crown had already passed from Prince Mahidol's line to that of his half-brother's when his eldest full brother, Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis, died as a teenager during King Chulalongkorn's reign.

A half-brother, Prince Vajiravudh (as the next eldest) replaced Prince Vajirunhis as the crown prince.

He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed.

Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.

Ananda Mahidol (อานันทมหิดล; ) is his given name, and is one word in Thai.

He was posthumously renamed again in 1996, so as to give him an auspiciously long name similar to the names of Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, Vajiravudh, and Prajadhipok.

Nowadays, Thais refer to him officially as Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha Ananda Mahidol Phra Atthama Ramathibodindara (พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดลฯ พระอัฐมรามาธิบดินทร), an abbreviation of the name given to him in 1996.

Prince Ananda Mahidol was born in Heidelberg, Germany.

He was the first son of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla (son of King Rama V) and Mom Sangwan (last title Somdej Phra Sri Nakarindhara Borommaratchachonnani) who were studying there at the time.

He was the first Thai King to be born outside of the country.