Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927) was declared king of Thailand in 1946 and formally crowned four years later. He represented the Chakri Dynasty that has preserved the independence of Thailand for more than 200 years.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, born on December 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the only Thai monarch ever to be born abroad. He was the youngest son of Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, and the direct grandson of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), noted for the widespread reforms he introduced into Thailand.

After a short period of primary school in Bangkok, King Bhumibol left with his family for Switzerland, where he attended the Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande, and then received his Bachelier des Lettres diploma from the Gymnase Classique Cantonal of Lausanne. He entered Lausanne University to study science but, following the mysterious death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, in June 1946, he was declared king, although his formal...