Galyani Vadhana
Thai princess (1923-2008)
Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Naradhiwas (6 May 1923 – 2 January 2008) was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). She was also a direct granddaughter of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and Queen Sri Savarindira and the aunt of King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X).
Biography
Early life
Galyani Vadhana was born on 6 May 1923 in London, England, the only daughter of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkla, the 69th son of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and seventh son by Queen Savang Vadhana, and Sangwan Talapat (later known as Srinagarindra, Princess Mother). She was initially named May Songkla and later named Her Serene Highness Galyani Vadhana Mahidol by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI). The word "Vadhana" in her name came from her paternal grandmother, Savang Vadhana. In 1927, King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) promoted her to the royal rank of Princess of Thailand (Her Highness).
Education
In 1935, Galyani Vadhana attended a secondary school for girls named École supérieure de jeunes filles de la ville de Lausanne.
In 1938, she joined the International School of Geneva, the world's oldest international school (founded in 1924), where she lived as a boarder. She was an excellent student, and eventually came first of her school at the final exam and third in all Switzerland.
In 1942, Galyani Vadhana continued her studies in chemistry at the University of Lausanne.
The public source identifies “Galyani Vadhana” as thai princess (1923-2008). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Galyani, Vadhana and Thai.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q466850. VIAF identifies the subject as 33063209. The Library of Congress control number is n84182141. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1923, 2008, 1927 and 1935.
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This entry incorporates text from “Galyani Vadhana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.