Posted on 12/27/2004 9:51:01 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
PHUKET: A grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej was among those killed when tidal waves smashed into southern Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Monday.
He said the body of Bhumi Jensen, 21, was found at the resort of Khao Lak in Phang Nga province about one hundred metres (yards) away from where he was last seen jet-skiing before the waves hit on Sunday.
"It's a national tragedy," said a grim-faced Thaksin. The monarchy is revered in Thailand.
He said two men with the crown prince at the time were still missing while Bhumi's aide de camp survived.
Bhumi is the son of Princess Ubolratana and her estranged American husband Peter Jensen.
He was holidaying with his mother at the time but she was safe.
At least 839 people are confirmed dead in southern Thailand after the tidal waves hit on Sunday, the interior ministry said.
Former finance and commerce minister Borom Tantian is among them, newspapers reported.
The Nation said Borom was swept away by a 10-metre-high (33 foot) wave as he was getting out of his car outside the Palm Andaman Beach Resort in Phang Nga north of Phuket.
His daughter Kantawan Kulchanyawiwat, an MP for the Democrat party, suffered a broken arm while her youngest son, aged three, was swept away.
It appears as though this prince was autistic.
Published on Feb 6, 2002
Princess Ubolratana was willing to share her valuable experience in raising her autistic child Khun Bhumi Jensen, during an interview on Channel's Twilight Show .
She advised other parents of autistic children that they should not feel embarrassed and allow and encourage their children get involved and learn about living in society. The princess believes that autistic children "put themselves in jail" and if we don't bring them out they will remain isolated.
The princess also stressed the importance of enrolling children in specially designed programmes. "Studying in these programmes will certainly help. Although most autistic children won't be completely cured, in every mother's heart there is a deep feeling that we want our child to be happy," said the princess.
With her own child, the princess encountered problems in the US as people didn't understand Khun Bhumi's behaviour. "We were even asked to leave some places," she recalls, adding that thanks to the kindness of Thai society, Khun Bhumi has showed significant development and he is now able to adjust to society.
An autistic grandson of the King, with a divorced American father, was the Crown Prince? That seems very strange. Are there no other male heirs who are better qualified? Was he the only surviving male heir?
Surely Yul Brynner had OTHER children? (hint: a movie tie-in)
Sad, be no more tragic than any of the other 30,000 people that were killed in this disaster.
Sounds like the last scene in Point Break.
You would think, with jet skis...he could have outridden the wave.
Oh I don't know. I think someone with mental disabilities is perfectly suited to be a "royal," since the whole idea of royalty is completely retarded.
I think that there are probably a lot of crowned princes. I know that there are 100s of them in Saudi Arabia.
Waves were reportedly traveling at 500 mph...That jet ski would need to be Turbo powered.
Having a sensible king in that part of the world could be pretty important. Look what happened in Cambodia. We may not think much of it, but it helps stabilize society if peasants have a figure they can focus on.
He was not the crown prince. The crown prince is somewhere in his mid 50s, I would guess. His name is Vajiralongkorn. I don't know where the prince mentioned in the article stood in the line of succession, but he was not the crown prince.
In english, the title "Crown Prince," refers to the heir to the throne. There can be only one. ;)
OK. In my book "crown prince" means the announced heir to the throne. "Prince," or "royal prince," means someone who is in the succession but not the immediate heir if the king dies.
As Prince of Wales, for instance, Charles is the crown prince to Queen Elizabeth, unless he misbehaves and is formally removed from the succession. If the Queen dies before such action to remove him is taken, then he automatically becomes king.
True, except in Thailand currently there is also a "Crown Princess", Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Crown Prince's sister. This was done a several years ago, for reasons particular to the present Thai situation, or so I have been told. These are the only two who are potentially "next" in line for succession.
True, except in Thailand currently there is also a "Crown Princess", Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Crown Prince's sister. This was done a several years ago, for reasons particular to the present Thai situation, or so I have been told. These are the only two who are potentially "next" in line for succession.
Sorry for the double post.
It seems there is now only one. Sadly.
Yeah no way to out-run the wave in the water. I got on a jet ski for the first time last month in Patong Bay. It was a blast! I've been thinking about what a horrific experience it would be to ride one under a tsunami. I heard jet skis are hundreds of feet inland on Patong Beach (what's left of it) now.
The king is loved in Thailand. I'm sure he will be visiting the islands soon, comforting the people.
Then the wave would begin to emerge from the ocean. Escape would have been impossible at that point.
Monsieur Bazbeaux: I know of your American cousin - are his adventures still continuing? :D (it's been a lotta years since I've listened to F.T.)
The young prince who was killed was not the Crown Prince. See my post 15.
Funny I saw that too just before you pinged me!
Couldn't be too severe if he was out jet skiing. Unfortunate all the same.
This boy's mother, Ubol Ratana went to both Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and college at MIT and as the article points out, married an American. They lived here for many years. When she was a girl she was a great kid. Her nickname was "Julie". The prince was a much loved son. Her heart, and those of the King and Queen must be broken. He was not, by the way, the heir to the throne.
I just reported what I heard on Fox News. They were probably mistaken about him being crowned prince.
Yesterday they said that the one of the Nuclear Scientists from Parkinson's was captured. Parkinson's, Pakistan, same difference.
ROTFL!! I DID hear that right! I thought I'd just heard it wrong, when I heard them talking about the Nuke scientist from Parkinson's.
the only hint i got was the King and I reference in which i played the part of the crown prince when i was in school.
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