Uthumphon


Uthumphon 'Maha Thammarachathirat III or Uthumphon Mahaphon Phinit was the 32nd and penultimate monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling in 1758 for about three months. Facing various throne claimants, Uthumphon was finally forced to abdicate and enter monkhood. His preference of being a monk rather than keeping the throne earned him the epithet "Khun Luang Ha Wat"', or "the king who lives in the temple".
His memorial tomb is located in the Linzin Hill cemetery in Amarapura, about northeast of the U Bein Bridge.

Early life

Uthumphon was born in 1730 during the reign of his uncle King Thai Sa. Uthumphon's father Prince Phon was the younger brother of King Thai Sa and the Wangna or vice king of the Front Palace, the royal heir presumptive. Uthumphon's mother was Princess Consort Phlap, one of the two main consorts of Prince Phon, daughter of Chaophraya Bamroe Phuthorn, a prominent noble during the reign of King Phetracha. Shortly before Uthumphon's birth, his father Prince Phon dreamed of seeing flowers of Udumbhara or Buddhist holy fig. As the flowers of the Udumbhara are of rare occurrences, sighting one implies a significant event. Prince Phon them named his newborn son Prince Uthumphon or Dok Ma Duea or Dokduea.
Uthumphon was the youngest child born to his mother Princess Consort Phlap, being more than ten years younger than his older brother Ekkathat. Uthumphon also had five elder sisters who shared the same mother.
After a succession struggle, Prince Phon, Uthumphon's father, ascended the throne as King Borommakot in 1733. Princess Consort Phlap, Uthumphon's mother, became Queen Kromma Luang Phiphitmontri. To prevent future dynastic conflicts, Borommakot controlled the allocation of manpower strength among his sons, the royal princes, through the creation of Kroms or princely manpower regiments. Prince Uthumphon or Prince Dokduea was later granted a Krom with the title Kromma Khun Phonphinit.
Three sons of Borommakot; Thammathibet, Ekkathat, and Uthumphon, who were born to his two main queens, were given the superior rank of Kromma Khun, meaning that they could appoint their officials and servants to the rank of Khun. Meanwhile, four other sons of Borommakot who were born to his lesser secondary consorts were given the inferior rank of Kromma Muen, meaning that they could appoint their servants only to the rank of Muen.
Prince Thammathibet, eldest son of Borommakot and Uthumphon's half-older brother, was appointed as Uparat or Wangna or vice king of the Front Palace in 1741, technically as heir presumptive. After the death of Chaophraya Chamnan Borirak the Chief Minister in 1753, the Siamese royal court was plunged into princely conflicts. Two factions formed, composing of the three superior princes Thammathibet, Ekkathat, and Uthumphon on one side and the three of Borommakot's secondary sons, Princes Kromma Muen Chitsunthorn, Kromma Muen Sunthornthep, and Kromma Muen Sepphakdi, known collectively as Chao Sam Krom or the Three Princes, on the opposing side.
In 1756, the Three Princes appointed some of their servants to the rank of Khun, surpassing the limit of their princely ranks. Prince Thammathibet of the Front Palace took this violation of princely ranks seriously. Thammathibet sent his forces to arrest Prince Sunthornthep, one of the Three Princes. Prince Sunthornthep escaped to tell their father King Borommakot about the incident. King Borommakot summoned Thammathibet for inquisition but Thammathibet visited his father the king with a sword in his hand. Borommakot then had Thammathibet imprisoned and interrogated. It was revealed that Thammathibet had been in secret romantic relationships with two of Borommakot's secondary consorts and had been planning a sedition. Prince Thammathibet the royal heir and Prince of the Front Palace was whipped with one hundred and eighty strokes of rattan cane, died from injuries in April 1756.

Prince of the Front Palace

The death of Thammathibet, Uthumphon's elder half-brother, in 1756 left the position of Uparat or Wangna vacant. In 1757, Prince Kromma Muen Thepphiphit, one of Borommakot's secondary sons and a half-older brother of Uthumphon, in concert with other prominent Chatusadom ministers including Chaophraya Aphairacha the Samuha Nayok or Chief Minister and Chaophraya Kalahom Khlongklaeb the Minister of Military, proposed King Borommakot to make Prince Uthumphon or Prince Phonphinit the new Uparat or heir presumptive. Uthumphon initially refused, saying that he had an older brother Prince Ekkathat or Prince Kromma Khun Anurak Montri. King Borommakot, however, stated that Ekkathat was incompetent, sure to bring disaster to the kingdom and Uthumphon was preferred as vice-king and potential heir; "I only see that Kromma Khun Phonphinit possesses wisdom and is intelligent, entitled to maintain the white umbrella to reign and to continue the kingdom.".
With supports from prominent ministers, Uthumphon finally consented to his father's wish. Uthumphon underwent Uparajabhisekha ceremony to be consecrated as the new Uparat or Prince of the Front Palace and technically heir presumptive to his father Borommakot in 1757. Uthumphon was also given his half-niece, a daughter of the deceased prince Thammathibet, to be his consort but the couple never produced children. Uthumphon did not move into the Front Palace or Chanbaworn Palace on the northeastern corner of Ayutthaya per his position but continued to stay at his residence at Suan Kratai Pavilion, bordering Wat Phra Si Sanphet temple to the west. King Borommakot also forced Prince Ekkathat, Uthumphon's older brother, to shave his head to become a Buddhist monk at Wat Lamut temple to the northeast of Ayutthaya in order to prevent Ekkathat from contesting against Uthumphon for the throne in the future.
Meanwhile, to the west of Siam, King Alaungpaya of the rising new Burmese Konbaung dynasty, conquered the Kingdom of Hanthawaddy of the Mon people of Lower Burma in 1757, unifying Upper and Lower Burma under his new regime.

The Three Princes

On the fifth waning of the sixth month, Year 1120 of Culāsakaraj Era, King Borommakot fell gravely ill. Borommakot, in order to ensure peaceful succession, summoned the Three Princes to swear oath and fealty to the new king Uthumphon in front of Borommakot. Prince Ekkathat, Uthumphon's older brother, who had been exiled to be a Buddhist monk at Wat Lamut temple, returned to Ayutthaya to support Uthumphon. After reigning for twenty-five years, King Borommakot died on that day on 29 April 1758. After the death of King Borommakot, the Three Princes did not uphold their oath and contested against Uthumphon for kingship.
Ayutthayan royal regalia were taken to be under possession of Uthumphon at his residence the Suan Kratai Pavilion. The Three Princes, in turn, took possession of royal swords and firearms at Banyong Rattanat Throne Hall. The new king Uthumphon summoned all the princes and officials to swear loyalty to him at Suan Kratai Pavilion, in which the Three Princes did not come. Upon learning this movement of the Three Princes, Ekkathat commanded Prince Kromma Muen Thepphiphit to take all firearms of the Royal Armory to Suan Kratai Palace to intimidate the Three Princes. The Three Princes, in response, sent forces to break into the Regular Armory to seize all the firearms.
With a civil war looming in Ayutthaya, Uthumphon and Ekkathat devised a plan to subjugate the Three Princes. Uthumphon asked five senior Buddhist prelates, led by Phra Thepmuni the abbot of Wat Kudidao temple, to persuade the Three Princes to surrender peacefully. The five virtuous monks then visited the Three Princes to beseech them to cease their belligerent actions. A week later, on he eleventh waning of the sixth month, the Three Princes visited Uthumphon and Ekkathat at Suan Kratai Pavilion to supposedly surrender. Uthumphon, however, secretly placed some police forces to arrest the Three Princes. The Three Princes unknowingly walked into the trap and were arrested.
On the thirteenth waning, two days later, on 4 May 1758, Uthumphon eventually ordered the death sentences onto the Three Princes. Before dying, Prince Sepphakdi, one of the Three Princes, said "Being born under the great royal white umbrella, who will ever die a peaceful death?". The Three Princes; Chitsunthorn, Sunthornthep, and Sekkphadi, were executed through the traditional method to prevent princely blood from touching the grounds, by being beaten to death with sandalwood club. A civil war in Ayutthaya was then averted through quick actions of Uthumphon and Ekkathat.

Brief reign and abdication

The new king Uthumphon, after subjugating his rivals the Three Princes, was finally enthroned in the Praptabhisekha ceremony on the sixth waxing of the seventh month. Praptabhisekha was a specific name of a Rajabhisekha royal enthronement ceremony for a Siamese monarch who had to defeat enemies before ascension to the throne.
Ekkathat, Uthumphon's older brother who was still in monk robes staying at the same residence as Uthumphon, decided to compete against Uthumphon for the throne. Ekkathat moved to stay at Suriyat Amarin Throne Hall, a splendid royal pavilion, instead of returning to Wat Lamut temple as Buddhist monk to impose political pressure onto Uthumphon. Uthumphon was sensitive of his older brother pressing claims to the throne.
Uthumphon finally gave in. Uthumphon personally went to visit Ekkathat at Suriyat Amarin Throne Hall to relinquish his throne to his older brother. On 1 June 1758, after merely ten days on the throne, Uthumphon abdicated and left Ayutthayan royal palace. Uthumphon went on a royal barge procession to Wat Ayothaya temple in the northeastern outskirts of Ayutthaya to perform an ordination ceremony to become a Buddhist monk. The abdicated king Uthumphon, then the monk king, traveled on the royal barge to return to Ayutthaya and stayed at Wat Pradu temple off the eastern wall of Ayutthaya citadel. Uthumphon's abdication and entrance into the Theravadin Buddhist religion earned him the epithet Khun Luang Ha Wat or the King Who Sought Temple.