Early Life and Education

The sky was overcast with rain clouds on the morning of July 28, 1952, bringing a delightful expectation to people in Thailand who had been waiting for rainfall after a long period of drought.

At about 9am, speculation was rife with another exalted possibility that Her Majesty Queen Sirikit was about to give birth to her second child.

The spacious Royal Plaza in front of the Dusit Palace started to fill up with expectant crowds. Members of the armed forces prepared for shotgun salutes while musicians advanced into positions to render a celebratory tune as soon as news about the royal birth arrived.

His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej was on hand with a camera and voice recorder to capture the memorable moment at Ambara Villa, according to a book by MR Sumonchart Swasdikul, published by the Fine Arts Department to celebrate the crown prince’s investiture in 1972.

“At 5.45pm, the prince was born. At the very same time, the rain that has been absent throughout the season started to come down. It was as if the sky recognised his birth,’’ MR Sumonchart wrote.

As soon as the birth of the prince was announced, the royal anthem was played and gun salutes fired. The waiting crowds roared with delight. The prince and heir to the throne of the Chakri Dynasty was born.

When the prince was one year old, the then Supreme Patriarch gave the prince his first name, Vajiralongkorn, derived from “Vajirayana”, King Mongkut’s name when he served as a monk, and “Alongkorn” from the name of King Chulalongkorn Rama V.

The then Crown Prince’s interest in military affairs was enhanced with more training programmes in unconventional warfare and reconnaissance courses in the UK, the United States and Australia.

With a passion for flying, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua was trained to become a qualified military and helicopter pilot. He later received a commercial pilot’s licence and earned his wings as a Boeing 737-400 pilot in 2005.

He was given the monastic name of “Vajiralongkornno” and went on to stay at Wat Bowon Niwet Vihara where he devoted himself to Buddhist studies for 15 days.

Over the years, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua has attended numerous religious ceremonies belonging to both Buddhism and other religious traditions. Among them were the Mawlid festivals to celebrate the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a Quran recital contest held at the central mosque in Pattani in November last year.