King Rama VI of Siam (formerly Crown Prince Vajiravudh), circa 1920, National Archive of Thailand, public domain image, Wikimedia Commons |
In 1902 California was honored with a visit from Crown Prince Vajiravudh of Siam.* The Oxford educated Crown Prince was known for his progressive, social reforms. The changes he initiated included making primary education free and compulsory, making monogamy the only legal form of marriage, implementing universal smallpox vaccination, and establishing the Thai Red Cross and Thailand’s first institution of higher learning, Chulalongkorn University. In 1910 he became King Rama VI.
The Crown Prince's California visit elicited quite a bit of commentary in local newspapers. The San Jose Mercury-News described his November visit to their fair city as follows:
"The Crown Prince of Siam has been leading rather a strenuous life since his arrival in California. Yesterday he took a twenty-five-mile horseback ride through Santa Clara valley, he drove to the summit of Mount Hamilton to visit the Lick Observatory and view the stars through the big telescope, spending the night on the mountain."
The energetic Crown Prince was off again the next day.
"He was up bright and early this morning and after breakfast made the return to San Jose. Before he had time to shake the dust from his clothes he was taken over the narrow-gauge road through the Santa Cruz mountains to see the big trees, one of which was named Crown Prince at the request of the owner. Professor Gore of Columbia College, Washington, made the dedicatory speech."
The Crown Prince of Siam Tree is the only known big tree of the grove to be named for a member of royalty. Unfortunately, the exact location of this regal tree remains a mystery.
* Siam was renamed Thailand in 1939
Sources: “Climate Like Siam Says Crown Prince – Heir to Siamese Throne Leads a Strenuous Life, Exalts California – Closer Trade Relations Urged,” San Jose Mercury-News, November 22, 1902, 1:7; “Siam’s Royal Prince Comes to the City Attended by Pomp and Pageantry of an Heir to an Oriental Throne,” San Francisco Call, November 22, 1902; Encyclopedia Britannica, “Vajiravudh – King of Siam,” 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vajiravudh.
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