Bảo Đại


Bảo Đại, born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was de jure emperor of Annam and Tonkin, which were then protectorates in French Indochina, covering the present-day central and northern Vietnam. Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1932.
The French Indochina|Japanese ousted] the Vichy French administration in March 1945 and ruled through Bảo Đại, who proclaimed the Empire of Vietnam. He abdicated in August 1945 after Japan surrendered.
From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại was the chief of state of the anti-communist State of Vietnam. Viewed as a puppet ruler, Bảo Đại was criticized for being too closely associated with France and spending much of his time outside Vietnam. He was eventually ousted in a 1955 [State of Vietnam referendum|referendum] in 1955 by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who was supported by the United States.

Early life

Bảo Đại was born as Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy on 22 October 1913 with the childhood name Mệ Vững and the only child of Emperor Khải Định and his concubine Hoàng Thị Cúc. However; there are still many questions about Bảo Đại's background. According to historical records, Khải Định was said to prefer being homosexual and disliked getting close to women. At that time, Vietnam had been ruled by the Nguyễn dynasty since 1802. Then, the French colonial government completely conquered the country in 1883 and split Vietnam into three areas: the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin and the colony of Cochinchina, all of which would later be parts of Federation of Indochina. The Nguyễn dynasty was given nominal rule of Annam and Tonkin.
On April 28, 1922, at the age of 9, he was investitured as Crown Prince of East Palace. On June 15, 1922, he and his father led the delegation to France to participate in a colonial exhibition in Marseille. This was the first time he went to an oversea trip in Western Europe.

Education in France

In June 1922, Prince Vĩnh Thụy was adopted by the former governor of Resident-Superior of Annam, Jean François Eugène Charles and his wife. They then sent him to France to study at the Lycée Condorcet. In February 1924, he returned to Vietnam to attend the 40th birthday anniversary of his father, before returning to France to continue his study at Hattemer School in November. He was the first Vietnamese monarch to receive a full western education, that would shape his vision about his reign in the future.

Ascension to the throne

On November 6, 1925, Emperor Khải Định died and Prince Vinh Thuy returned to Vietnam to attend the funeral. On 8 January 1926, Vinh Thuy took the enthronement ceremony and became the 13th emperor of Nguyễn dynasty at 12 years old and took the era name Bảo Đại. He did not yet rule the country directly but through his appointed regent " Tôn Thất Hân" while returning to France to continue his study in March of the same year.

Return to France

The imperial court also sent a Confucian scholar to France to teach the emperor Chữ Hán and Vietnamese etiquette, but French teachers later barred him from doing his duty. After returning to Vietnam to rule, Bảo Đại himself admitted that "he almost knew nothing about the history of his dynasty and country even the colonial rule events."
At France, his adoptive father "Jean François Eugène Charles" was responsible for the emperor's education. When Bao Dai travelled to study in France, Emperor Khai Dinh entrusted Charles to look after his son. Every day at noon and after school, Bao Dai went to Charles's house at the Rue des Bourdonnais and was not allowed to go anywhere until the evening. Besides managing Bảo Đại's studies at school, Charles also took Bao Dai on vacation in Vichy or at his private residence in Prades during the summer. Charles likely considered Bao Dai as the part of his family and monitored Bao Dai to train him to become the future ruler. After morning classes, he had to spent time on doing homework very diligently with other fellow countrymen.
In 1930, Bao Dai started to study at Sciences Po in Paris and lived in his private home at Rue 13 Lamballe Street. According to the newspaper L'Asie Nouvelle, Bao Dai developed interests in sports such as tennis, golf and skiing. To the conservative Vietnamese monarchy, this was the new revolution in the imperial family where the former emperors did not participate in any activities of commoners. The newspaper described him feel more comfortable and suitable with western lifestyle and entertainments in Paris like clubbing and partying rather than political activities or ruling his own country.
The young man enjoyed this way of life and it was uneasy to change and adapt with the conservative Vietnamese lifestyle after returning home. In 1932, although there was a proclamation of returning of the Emperor to his country posted at Meridian Gate with millions of Vietnamese people looking forward to it, he was still hesitant because it seemed that he had not yet made up his mind to return to his country.

Luxury life

According to historical records, young Bảo Đại was described as the playboy and the car enthusiast. He also owned many types of cars at the age of 16. The young man had some high-speed cars to drive on the streets of Paris city and on the highway from Cannes to Deauville. He himself was a good and fast driver, comfortable and calm when accelerating, understanding clearly the engine's features to impress the others.
The French colonial government was also aware of Bao Dai 's lack of the responsibility as the emperor and lack of enthusiasm for returning to Vietnam. Eugène Chatel, secretary of the Governor-General wrote: "I wonder if the emperor was always trying to delay his return to his country, but through some people close to him, they felt that he was not very eager or hurry to return to rule."
The archives of the French Governor-General showed that the Hue imperial court and mandarins were extremely impatient with the absence of the emperor, urging The French colonial government to encourage him to come back to rule. The secretary-general of the Governor-General of Indochina, Eugène Chatel, became increasingly frustrated with Bao Dai's hesitation. Chatel wrote many reports to the Ministry of Colonies to call for the need of magnificent ceremony, demanding more money and easier conditions. The future of the dynasty depended on the emperor's return.

Return to Vietnam and assassination plot

In September 1932, Bao Dai began his long journey to return to Vietnam on the ship named "Président Doumer" with a farewell ceremony by Minister of Colonies Albert Sarraut who represented the colonial government in Marseille. All of places where the ship docked on the journey would organise grand receptions except in Penang, Malaysia because French secret service received news about the assassination plot. At this time, the Colonial Committee of the French Communist Party met in secret at 120 rue Chateaudun. Eight people were present including one European and seven Vietnamese that planned to assassinate the emperor before his return. This plot was taken at places in Paris and Marseille, but it was unsuccessful.
They tried to conduct terrorist assassination the third time in the Malay Peninsula, but it was discovered. On that day, the ship had to secretly anchor far from the reception venue, but the perpetrator did not show up. The ship continued to sail into Vietnamese territorial water, anchored at Cape Saint-Jacques with warships protection.
Bao Dai then transferred to a warship named "Dumont d'Urville", which would take him to Đà Nẵng, part of Protectorate of Annam. Besides that, there was two more ships escorted "Dumont d'Urville" together with cannons fired and flying flag hanging as the emperor boarding on the warship. Arriving at Da Nang port, he transferred to a gunboat and sailed up the Han River to the city. Finally, he boarded a train and traveled another 100 kilometers to Hue. The emperor later wrote in his memoirs: "After many years of living in freedom, I felt as if I am now entering a prison..."

Reign

On September 10, 1932, the emperor began to reform and remove some of outdated and conservative customs of the imperial court. The twenty-year-old emperor held the first traditional court audience in which the top officials came to congratulate him on his return after a long absence. However, the emperor spoke in French, shocking and offending both young officials with nationalistic spirit and the older officials imbued with Confucianist learning. Bảo Đại reformed the court such as rearranging internal affairs and administration. Then, he abolished some old customs that the previous emperors had established such as his subjects not having to kowtow and allowed to look directly at the emperor which had been considered as lese-majesté. when the procession arrived, every time the Western officials came to the audience they did not have to clasp their hands and bow but only shook hands with the emperor and native officials did not have to kneel. He banned custom of having excessively long fingernails and long beards by the elderly mandarins.
During the emperor's absence, his grandmothers and his great-grandmother spent a huge amount of money on gambling and they had to use the emperor's private fund to pay off debts but insufficient. To earn the money, those ladies started to sell the officials titles to their creditors who was also the head of the Council of Ministers. This led to the determination of eliminating bribery in imperial court.
On September 19, 1932, Bảo Đại issued the first decree declaring his authority and affirming the absolute monarchy. This document abolished the old regency council established on November 16, 1925, shortly after death of emperor Khải Định. The emperor would manage directly the country's affairs and pay attention to the progress of the country. This received praise from French colonial. Previously, the government was governed by a council appointed by the French, so it was completely dependent on the French protectorate. The emperor did not participate in the council's affair, decision making and treated as figurehead.
However, Resident General of Annam appointed by Paris had the right to veto all decisions of the emperor, even the least important ones. Thus, the country's leadership remained unchanged. Moreover, the French official who had a seat in the cabinet or the Council of Ministers, could agree or disagree with the decisions of the cabinet.
Only a few months after his return, Bảo Đại made a tour of the provinces of Annam that had not happened in previous Emperors' reign. The emperor declared directly that he intended to rule alone without a prime minister, thereby expressing his desire to hold real power not only ceremonial role. Bảo Đại proposed a few reform measures which was less important and moderate in level. He tried to change the direction of the old governance, reform national education, pass a new criminal and civil code, gradually moving the country towards a constitutional monarchy. In particular, he reformed the Annam's House of Representatives and the mandarin system, which later caused opposition from Ngô Đình Diệm.
All taxes were collected and distributed by the French protectorate. The Resident-Superior of Annam would determine the budget of Imperial court and provide the fund to run the government. The Emperor also had an annual allowance from the budget of Annam protectorate which he himself had no right to decide of amount received and each month he needed to have the French governors' signature approved to receive it for spending.
On April 8, 1933, Bảo Đại issued an edict to reorganize the cabinet and take charge himself. He appointed five new ministers who shared the same reformist philosophy as him to replace those. He established the House of Representatives to show his appeals to the French colonial officials and allowed the Tonkin Advisory Council to represent the imperial court in cooperating with the French protectorate government.

Vietnam in World War II

During the second World War in 1940, the Empire of Japan took over French Indochina while their ally Nazi Germany's invasion of France. Although they did not dissolve the French colonial administration, the occupation of Vietnam|occupation] authorities directed policy from behind the scenes in a parallel of Vichy France. The Japanese promised not to interfere with the imperial court at Huế. However, after ousting the French in 1945, they forced emperor Bảo Đại to declare Vietnamese independence from France as a member of Japan's "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"; the country then became the Empire of Vietnam.
Bảo Đại, however, appeared to believe that independence was an irreversible course. In 1944, he wrote to General de Gaulle, leader of the Free French:

Independence declaration and establishment of Empire of Vietnam

After Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, the French colonial administration collapsed and the establishment of a new government was supported by Japan as an urgent requirement and the Empire of Vietnam was born in that context. According to the arrangement of the Imperial Japanese Army, emperor Bảo Đại met with Japan's supreme advisor, Ambassador Yokoyama Masayuki at Kien Trung Palace to sign the "Indepencence Declaration of Vietnam" on March 11, 1945. The main content of the declaration signed by Bảo Đại was the abolition of the Patenôtre Treaty signed with France in 1884, the unification of Tonkin, Annam and Cochinchina, and the abolition of all previous protectorate and unequal treaties with France. However, the empire was de facto the client state of Japan with the slogan of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which was believed to give the Japanese military the right to requisition property throughout Vietnam.
The declaration of Vietnam's independence:
On April 7, 1945, Bảo Đại signed the Decree No. 5 approving the establishment of Trần Trọng Kim's cabinet. On May 12, he dissolved the House of Representatives of Annam. In June 1945, the Trần Trọng Kim government named the country the Empire of Vietnam, using the 3 striped and yellow flag as the national flag.

Surrender of Japan

On August 16, 1945, when the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies, Trần Trọng Kim declared to protect the cabinet of the Empire of Vietnam. On August 18 he created a National Liberation Committee. Following the advice of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bảo Đại sent a message to the leaders of the Allies requesting recognition of the Empire of Vietnam. On August 18, Bảo Đại sent a message to De Gaulle requesting recognition of the Empire of Vietnam. However, De Gaulle was not interested in Bao Dai's proposal, because he had compromised with Japan, the enemy of France. De Gaulle expected to support a Vietnamese monarchy without Bảo Đại, but instead one by Vĩnh San, who was considered a "Gaullist". All letters that Bảo Đại sent to other countries were also not responded to because, according to the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the Allied countries would not recognize any government established by the Japanese Empire in the occupied areas.
By August 24, the August Revolution had broken out throughout the country. With the encouragement of prime minister Phạm Khắc Hòe, Bảo Đại responded to the Privy Council that he decided to abdicate to avoid being an "obstacle to the liberation of the country".

Abdication

In 1945, the August Revolution succeeded and the Viet Minh forced the Imperial Vietnamese government to hand over power to them. Emperor Bảo Đại decided to abdicate, then he sent a telegram to the "People's Committee for National Salvation" in Hanoi: "In response to the Committee's call, I am ready to abdicate. Before this decisive moment in the nation's history, 'United we stand, Divided we fall'. I am ready to sacrifice all interests, so that national unity can be achieved, and request that the committee's representatives come to Hue soon for governmental takeover."
On August 22, the Viet Minh seized power in Hanoi and many other places in the country. The emperor still hoped to remain on the throne by cooperating with the Viet Minh to form a new cabinet under a constitutional monarchy. Then he issued an edict inviting the Viet Minh leader to Hue to form a cabinet.
On the morning of August 23, two Viet Minh envoys, Trần Huy Liệu and Cù Huy Cận arrived at the Imperial City of Huế. At the request of these two people, emperor Bảo Đại read the Abdication Declaration before thousands of people gathered at the Meridian Gate and handed over the imperial seal, sword and the other royal treasures to Tran Huy Lieu in afternoon of August 30, 1945. He became citizen "Vĩnh Thụy". This marked the end of a thousand years of Vietnamese monarchy.

Post-abdication life

Participating in Republic

Later, Bảo Đại received the letter from Hồ Chí Minh inviting him to be the supreme advisor of the new government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam that he later accepted.
On September 2, at 5:00 am, two days after the abdication ceremony, citizen Vĩnh Thụy left Hue for Hanoi, with the position of advisor to the government and President Hồ Chí Minh waiting for him. The convoy consisted of two cars. The first car carrying Vĩnh Thụy was accompanied by Minister of Labor Le Van Hien. The other car carried Prince Vinh Can, cousin of Bảo Đại. After receiving the seal and sword, Tran Huy Lieu's delegation set off for Hanoi the day before. The new state did not have any cars, so the delegation used the former emperor's two private cars.
After his abdication, Bảo Đại was treated very well and financially supported by the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. On September 4, 1945, Vĩnh Thụy arrived in Hanoi to take his position. On September 5, President Hồ Chí Minh as well as Chairman of the Provisional Government welcomed the former Emperor Bảo Đại at the Tonkin Palace. On September 10, President Hồ Chí Minh signed Decree No. 23/SL appointing citizen Vĩnh Thụy as "Supreme Advisor of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam". He was one of the 7 members of the Constitution Drafting Committee leaded by Hồ Chí Minh.
On January 6, 1946, Vĩnh Thụy was elected as a delegate to the first National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. On March 7, one day after the signing of Ho–Sainteny Agreement, he was always by President Hồ Chí Minh's side to officially receive French representative Sainteny and pay him a return visit. On March 8, 1946, the Government Council met and decided to send a diplomatic delegation to Chongqing and France. On March 11, the Government council appointed advisor Vĩnh Thụy as head of the delegation to Chongqing with Nghiêm Kế Tổ, a member of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party; Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Cong Truyen, a representative of the Viet Minh, a member of the Propaganda Committee of the People's Committee of the North; Ha Phu Huong, a representative of the Vietnam Democratic Party, a member of the Propaganda Committee of the People's Committee of the Central Region.

Exile in Hong Kong

On March 16, 1946, Bảo Đại was assigned to join the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to Chongqing to visit Republic of China. But he did not return home afterwards, but separated from the delegation to Kunming and then Hong Kong. Bảo Đại accepted to go to Chongqing but as a former emperor traveling, not as the leader of the delegation. Therefore, Nghiem Ke To, a member of the Vietnam Nationalist Party, was the head of the delegation.
Later, Pham Khac Hoe was also sent by President Hồ Chí Minh to Hong Kong to persuade Bảo Đại to return but before departing, he heard that Bảo Đại had agreed to side with France, so Hoe cancelled the trip. The Hồ Chí Minh' government also sent a high-ranking government official named Ho Duc Linh to bring gold and foreign currency to Bảo Đại and persuade him to return to the country, but was unsuccessful.
He also frequently visited casinos and dance clubs in Hong Kong under the name "Mr. Wang Kunney". In Hong Kong, Bảo Đại met with many political characters, including General George C. Marshall, the US representative, later brought the agreement with Bảo Đại to President Harry S. Truman. According to the French intelligence agency, Bảo Đại himself asked for their help after he had spent all his money in Hong Kong. The French envoys continued to provide him with financial support, giving Bảo Đại 5,000 Hong Kong dollars each month that made him able to enjoy life of luxury and wealth. He bought an English-style building near Stanley Beach, often receiving guests in Causeway Bay, letting them stay at the Hongkong Hotel or at the Paramount or Saint-Francis. Later, when he sold his private property in Hong Kong, he received a sum of up to one million Indochinese piastres. Shortly after, Bảo Đại wrote a letter back to the country to resign from his position as "Supreme Advisor" in the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Return to power and Indochina War

Bảo Đại spent nearly a year as "supreme advisor" to the DRV, during which period Vietnam descended into armed conflict between rival Vietnamese factions and the French. He left this post in 1946 after communists abandoned him in China. He moved to Hong Kong, where the French and Việt Minh both attempted unsuccessfully to solicit him for political support.
Eventually a coalition of Vietnamese anti-communists formed a National Union and declared to support Bảo Đại on the condition he would seek independence for Vietnam. This persuaded him to reject Việt Minh overtures and enter into negotiations with the French. On 7 December 1947, Bảo Đại officially signed the first of the Ha Long Bay Accords with France. Despite ostensibly committing France to Vietnamese independence, it was considered minimally binding and transferred no actual authority to Vietnam. The agreement was promptly criticized by National Union members, including Diệm. In a possible attempt to escape the resulting political tension, Bảo Đại travelled to Europe and commenced on a four-month pleasure tour which earned him the sobriquet "night club emperor". After persistent efforts by the French, Bảo Đại was persuaded to return from Europe and sign a second Ha Long Bay Agreement on 5 June 1948. This contained similarly weak promises for Vietnamese independence and had as little success as the first agreement. Bảo Đại once again travelled to Europe whilst warfare in Vietnam continued to escalate.
After months of negotiations with French President Vincent Auriol, he finally signed the Élysée Accords on 8 March 1949, which led to the establishment of the State of Vietnam with Bảo Đại becoming the Chief of State on 14 June 1949; the French also oversaw the creation of the Domain of the Crown where he was still officially considered to be the Emperor, this territory existed until 1955.
However, the country was still only partially autonomous, with France initially retaining effective control of the army and foreign relations. Bảo Đại himself stated in 1950: "What they call a Bảo Đại solution turned out to be just a French solution... the situation in Indochina is getting worse every day".
As Diệm and other hardcore nationalists were disappointed in the lack of autonomy and refused high government posts, Bảo Đại mainly filled his government with wealthy figures strongly connected to France. He then spent his own time in the resort towns of Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Buôn Ma Thuột, largely avoiding the process of governing. All this contributed to his reputation as a French puppet and a rise in popular support for the Việt Minh, whose armed insurgency against the French-backed regime was developing into a full-fledged civil war. Nonetheless, in 1950 he attended a series of conferences in Pau, France where he pressed the French for further independence. The French granted some minor concessions to the Vietnamese, which caused a mixed reaction on both sides.
In addition to the increasing unpopularity of the Bảo Đại government, the communist victory in China in 1949 also led to a further revival of the fortunes of the Việt Minh. When China and the Soviet Union recognized the DRV government, the United States reacted by extending diplomatic recognition to Bảo Đại's government in March 1950. This and the outbreak of the Korean War in June led to U.S. military aid and active support of the French war effort in Indochina, now seen as anti-communist rather than colonialist. Despite this, the war between the French colonial forces and the Việt Minh started to go badly for the French, culminating in a major victory for the Việt Minh at Điện Biên Phủ. This led to the negotiating of a peace deal between the French and the Việt Minh on 21 July 1954, known as the Geneva Accords, which partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The north side was given to the DRV, with the State of Vietnam receiving the south. Before that, the State of Vietnam gained complete independence from France on June 4. Bảo Đại remained "Head of State" of South Vietnam, but moved to Paris and appointed Ngô Đình Diệm as his prime minister.

Second removal from power

At first, Ngô Đình Diệm exercised no influence over South Vietnam: the Việt Minh still had de facto control of somewhere between sixty and ninety percent of the countryside, whilst the rest was dominated by the various religious sects. Meanwhile, the new capital of Saigon was under the total control of criminal group Bình Xuyên. According to Colonel Lansdale, it had paid Bảo Đại a "staggering sum" for control of local prostitution and gambling and of Saigon's police force.
Regardless, Diệm's forces embarked on a campaign against the Bình Xuyên, with Battle of [Saigon (1955)|fighting breaking out] in the streets on 29 March 1955. In an attempt to protect his clients, Bảo Đại ordered Diệm to travel to France, but he was disobeyed and Diệm eventually succeeded in pushing his opponents out of the city. Using a divide and conquer strategy, Diệm then employed a mixture of force and bribery to sway the remaining religious sects to his side.
Now with a broad range of support, a new Popular Revolutionary Committee was able to call for a referendum to remove Bảo Đại and establish a republic with Diệm as president. The campaign leading up to the referendum was punctuated by personal attacks against the former emperor, whose supporters had no way to refute them since campaigning for Bảo Đại was forbidden.
The referendum was criticized as being fraudulent. The official results showed a tally of 98.9% in favor of a republic, with the number of votes for a republic exceeding the total number of registered voters by 155,025 in Saigon, while the total number of votes exceeded the total number of registered voters by 449,084, and the number of votes for a republic exceeded the total number of registered voters by 386,067.
Bảo Đại was removed from power, with Diệm declaring himself president of the new Republic of Vietnam on 26 October 1955.

Life in exile

He lived in Cannes, then moved to Alsace. In 1963, former Empress consort Nam Phương died in Chabrignac.
In 1957, while in Alsace, he met Christiane Bloch-Carcenac, with whom he had an affair until 1970. From this relationship he gave birth to his last child, Patrick-Édouard Bloch, born in 1958 who is still living in Alsace.
After moving to France, Bảo Đại no longer controlled the economic system to benefit himself as before, many his businesses in Vietnam were confiscated by Ngô Đình Diệm. Being watched by the tax authorities and no longer having financial support from the French government, he had to sell his assets gradually. Around 1960s, Bảo Đại's huge fortune was gradually dwindled. Many castles, expensive planes, luxury cars, etc... had to be sold to pay off the outstanding debts. Bảo Đại only received a small subsidy from President Giscard d'Estaing|Giscard]'s government of 8,000 francs/month.
In 1972, after spending all his assets, Bảo Đại lived with Monique Baudot, a French woman 30 years younger than him and they got married in 1982. In 1988, after a period of discussion with the parish priest of Saint-Pierre-de-Chaillot, Bảo Đại converted to Catholicism, taking the Christian name Jean-Robert. In 1988, Bảo Đại was baptised in France as Roman Catholic.
In 1972, Bảo Đại issued a public statement from exile, appealing to the Vietnamese people for national reconciliation, stating, "The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord". At times, Bảo Đại maintained residence in southern France, and in particular in Monaco, where he sailed often on his private yacht, one of the largest in Monte Carlo harbor. He still reportedly held great influence among local political figures in the Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên provinces of Huế. The Communist government of North Vietnam sent representatives to France hoping that Bảo Đại would become a member of a coalition government which might reunite Vietnam, in the hope of attracting his supporters in the regions wherein he still held influence.
In 1982, on the occasion of the opening of the imperial Family Association abroad, Bảo Đại visited the United States for the first time. In Sacramento, California, he was awarded with a golden key symbolizing the town and the title of "honorary citizen" of the city by the mayor of Westminster, California. He also visited and congratulated the ceremonies of the Vietnamese Buddhist and Caodaist communities in California and the Vietnamese American communities in Texas. Bảo Đại also took this opportunity to ask the opinions of the Vietnamese communities living in the United States about solutions for national reconciliation. As a result of these meetings, Bảo Đại publicly spoke out against the presence of American troops in South Vietnam, and he criticized President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu's regime in South Vietnam. He called for all political factions to create a free, neutral, peace-loving government which would resolve the tense situation that had taken form in the country.
Throughout Bảo Đại's life in both Vietnam and in France, he remained unpopular among the Vietnamese populace as he was considered a political puppet for the French colonialist regime, for lacking any form of political power, and for his cooperation with the French and for his pro-French ideals. The former emperor clarified, however, that his reign was always a constant battle and a balance between preserving the monarchy and the integrity of the nation versus fealty to the French authorities. Ultimately, power devolved away from his person and into ideological camps and in the face of Diem's underestimated influences on factions within the empire.

Death

Bảo Đại died at a military hospital in Val-de-Grâce, Paris on 30 July 1997. He was interred in the Cimetière de Passy.
Bảo Đại lived his last years quietly in a small apartment at 29, rue Fresnel, 16th arrondissement, Paris. All his once-massive wealth and power were gone, and he lived on a monthly allowance of 20,000 Francs from the French government.
He died at 5:00 a.m. on July 31, 1997, at the Val-de-Grâce Military Hospital, at the age of 83. Former Emperor Bảo Đại was the longest-lived emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty. He was also the longest-lived deposed emperor in the modern world.
Bảo Đại's funeral was held at 11:00 a.m. on August 6, 1997, at the Saint-Pierre-de-Chaillot church at 35 avenue Marceau, 16th arrondissement, Paris and his coffin was buried at Passy Cemetery on Trocadéro hill.
Responding to the BBC about this event, Ms. Monique said: "Today I am very sad. Of course, first and foremost because my husband has just passed away. But today the history of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam has also ended. I pray for my husband."

Marriages and children

On 20 March 1934, age 20, at the imperial city of Huế, Bảo Đại married Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan, a commoner from a wealthy Vietnamese Catholic family. After the wedding, she was given the title Empress Nam Phương.
The couple had five children, two sons and three daughters:
Although Bảo Đại later had additional children with other women, these are the only ones listed in the clan genealogy.

Mistresses

Nam Phương was granted the title of empress in 1945. By one count, Bảo Đại had relationships with eight women and fathered 13 children. Those named "Phương" are daughters, while those named "Bảo" are sons.
NameTitleIssueNote
Nguyễn Hữu Thị LanEmpress
Nam Phương		Crown Prince Bảo Long
Princess Phương Mai
Princess Phương Liên
Princess Phương Dung
Prince Bảo Thăng 		The emperor's first wife. "Nam Phương" translates as "Southern virtue".
Bùi Mộng ĐiệpThứ phiPhương Thảo
Bảo Hoàng
Bảo Sơn 		Called thứ phi phương Bắc.
Lý Lệ HàMistressWon Vietnam's first beauty contest in 1938 in Hà Đông. She publicly dated Bảo Đại in Hanoi in 1946. The couple later lived together in Hong Kong, according to her account.
Variously called Huang Xiaolan, Hoàng Tiểu Lan, Jenny Woong, and Trần NỷMistressPhương AnMixed Chinese-Vietnamese Hong Kong actress who had an affair with Bảo Đại 1946 when he was in Hong Kong.
Lê Thị Phi ÁnhThứ phiPhương Minh
Bảo Ân 		Sister-in-law of Prime Minister Phan Văn Giáo
VickyMistressPhương Từ This daughter by a French woman has "a half European Asian beauty."
Christiane Bloch-CarcenacMistressPatrick-Édouard Bloch-Carcenac Affair occurred in 1957–1970
Monique BaudotImperial princess
Self-styled Empress Thái Phương		Second wife. She was a French citizen whom Bảo Đại married in 1972.

Evaluation of Bảo Đại

In Vietnam

The Communist Party of Vietnam considered him to be a traitor. After he was once again helped by France as the Head of State of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh said in an interview with Chinese media: "Vĩnh Thụy brought the French invading army back to Vietnam and killed more compatriots. Vĩnh Thụy is a true traitor. The French colonists conspired to restore slavery in Vietnam. Vĩnh Thụy is the confidant of the colonists. Although Vietnamese law is very tolerant to those who have lost their way, they will severely punish the traitorous orphans. The Vietnamese people are determined to defeat all colonial conspiracies and fight for true independence and reunification."
On one hand, Bảo Đại remains a highly discussed figure. The CPV labels him a traitor, but does not treat him as harshly as subsequent leaders of the later South Vietnam; his role continues to be studied, ranging from a somewhat sympathetic figure to the Việt Minh to a moderate figure who tried to avoid war, given Bảo Đại himself agreed to abdicate in 1945 to give power for the Việt Minh.

Vietnamese diaspora

Most Overseas Vietnamese, who are ardently anti-communist, didn't consider Bảo Đại positively, partly due to his weak-willed reputation and inability to confront with the communist threat, as well as his reclusive life and his perceived cowardice. His role is also studied by the diaspora, although recent studies had questioned the perception due to perceived bias by both the Vietnamese diaspora and the CPV.

Pictures

In popular culture

  • Bảo Đại was portrayed by actor in the 2004 Vietnamese miniseries Ngọn nến Hoàng cung.
  • On 13 May 2017, a watch owned by Bảo Đại, a unique Rolex ref. 6062 triple calendar moonphase watch made for him while he was working in Geneva, became one of the most expensive watches ever sold, selling for a then record price of US$5,060,427 at a Phillips auction in Geneva.

    Bảo Đại coins

The last cash coin ever produced in the world bears the name of Bảo Đại in Chữ Hán. There are three types of this coin. Large cast piece with 10 văn inscription on the reverse, medium cast piece with no reverse inscription, and small struck piece. All were issued in 1933.

Quotes

  • In 1945 when the Japanese colonel in charge of the Hue garrison told Bảo Đại that he had taken measures ensuring the security of the Imperial Palace and those within it against a possible Việt Minh coup, Bảo Đại dismissed the protection declaring "We do not wish a foreign army to spill the blood of our people."
  • He explained his abdication in 1945 saying "We would prefer to be a citizen of an independent country rather than Emperor of an enslaved one."
  • When, after World War II, France attempted to counter Hồ Chí Minh's popularity and gain the support of the U.S. by creating an associated state with him, he said "What they call a Bảo Đại solution turns out to be just a French solution."
  • In a rare public statement from France in 1972, Bảo Đại appealed to the people of Vietnam for national reconciliation, saying "The time has come to put an end to the fratricidal war and to recover at last peace and accord."

    Honours

National honours

Other languages

  • Bảo Đại's memoirs have been published in French and in Vietnamese; the Vietnamese version appears considerably longer.

  • Photos of Bảo Đại's summer palaces

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