Birth Name: | Varananda Dhavaj Chudadhuj |
Birth Date: | 19 August 1920 |
Birth Place: | Bangkok, Siam |
Death Place: | Bangkok, Thailand |
House: | (Chakri dynasty) |
Father: | Chudadhuj Dharadilok |
Mother: | Ravi Kayananda |
Religion: | Theravada Buddhism |
Prince Varananda Dhavaj (Thai: พระวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าวรานนท์ธวัช;), born Prince Varananda Dhavaj Chudadhuj (Thai: วรานนท์ธวัช จุฑาธุช; ; 19 August 1922 – 15 September 1990) was the son of Prince Chudadhuj Dharadilok and Mom Ravi Kayananda. Although he was the only son of a senior Thai prince, he was disqualified from succession to the throne because his mother was not Prince Chudadhut's formal wife.
Following the death of his father, the prince was raised by his uncle King Prajadhipok. He joined the monarch in virtual exile in England. He enlisted in the RAF on 24 February 1942 under the name Nicky Varanand, was commissioned in 1943, and served as pilot in the Normandy campaign during World War II. He remained in the RAF, finally retiring as a flight lieutenant in 1960 to fly commercial aircraft for Thai Airways International. He later created his own airline, Air Siam, which went bankrupt in 1977. In 1973, he also became an adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture.
He married Mom Pamela Smee on 10 June 1950. Two children were born from this union:
On 24 September 1969, he married his cousin, Princess Galyani Vadhana, King Bhumibol's eldest sister. He also had two concubines, Princess Kokeaw Prakaykavil na Chiang Mai and Srisalai Suchatwut.