Siamese Revolution of 1932 - Royal Reaction

Royal Reaction

Even before the arrival of the Musketeers' telegram the King was aware of something going on in Bangkok. He was playing a game of golf at the summer villa's course with the Queen, two princely ministers and some courtiers, when an urgent message arrived (reportedly at the eighth hole); later, Prince Purachatra arrived to report to the King what had been going on in the capital.

The King and the princes discussed many options, which included fleeing the country, staging a counter-coup or full surrender. However, by the time the actual telegram arrived from the Khana Ratsadon, the King had already decided. He quickly replied he was willing to remain on the Throne as a constitutional monarch and that he had always favoured granting the people a constitution. The King, later, wrote of his decision of refusing to fight: "...I could not sit on a throne besmirched by blood." One point in which the King did not concede was when the Party sent a gunboat to fetch him to Bangkok. He refused and, instead, traveled back to the capital by Royal Train, stating that he was not a captive of the Khana Ratsadon.

Meanwhile, the Promoters forced the Princes to sign a document proclaiming their commitment to peace and to avoidance of any bloodshed. In Bangkok, like so many others that would follow, the coup elicited almost no response from the populace, and the day-to-day life of the populace returned to normal even before the end of the day. The rest of the country were also similarly disaffected, prompting the Times in London to report that the revolution merely was "a simple re-adjustment".