Coronation of King Vajiravudh

A scene during the coronation ceremonies for King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), who personally stimulated the early development of aviation in Thailand (Courtesy Hamilton King Collection)

Bangkok was full of exotic pomp and ceremony during King Vajiravudh's coronation in 1911, the year of the first flying demonstration. (Courtesy Hamilton King Collection)

The splendid Royal Barges in procession on the Chao Phya River around 1910, a familiar sight in the days when Thailand was known to the world as Siam. (Courtesy Hamilton King Collection)

On February 2, King Vajiravudh paid an unexpected visit to the race track. After inspecting the machine and conversing with the pilot, he was given a special demonstration, during which Van den Born dipped his wings in a smart salute as he passed His Majesty.      Summing up the historic event, the Times commented, "Siam is fortunate in making, among Far Eastern countries, early acquaintance with the achievement of modern aviation. The first Bangkok meeting boasts of only one aviator, but he is an expert and therfore the fact that he is alone matters much less than might have been expected...No attempt has been made to break records but the aviator has certainly demonstrated that aeroplaning is a practical thing, and nothing could have been more graceful than the way the machine was made to salute the King on the occasion of His Majesty's first visit to the ground. Aeroplaning, it is now everywhere recognized, is not an acrobat's trick, but a sport which is becoming increasingly practical."

 

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