Maha Chandra Kumara Soe Win (Burmese: မဟာစန္ဒြကုမာရစိုးဝင်း; born 15 January 1947[citation needed]) is a retired Burmese diplomat, prince and senior male member of the Royal House of Konbaung as the Pretender to the Throne of Burma (abolished in 1885) since 2019.[1] He is the eldest son of Prince Taw Phaya Gyi and great-grandson of King Thibaw and Chief Queen Supayalat.[2][3]
H.R.H Maha Chandra Kumara Soe Win | |
|---|---|
မဟာစန္ဒြကုမာရစိုးဝင်း | |
 Soe Win in 2018 | |
| Deputy director-general of Protocol Department | |
| In office 2006–2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Soe Win Thein Sein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 January 1948[citation needed] Rangoon, Burma, British Raj |
| Spouse | Tin Lay Wai |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | Rangoon University |
In 2017, Soe Win requested the Thai royal family and government to stop airing the Thai historical drama Plerng Phra Nang, loosely based on Hsinbyumashin's life, claiming it insulted the Burmese royal family.[4]
Early life
editSoe Win was born on 15 January 1947 in Rangoon, Burma.[citation needed] He is the eldest son of Prince Taw Phaya Gyi and his first wife, Khin Kyi. He graduated from Rangoon University. He had married Tin Lay Wai and they both have a son named Min Oo and a daughter named Sandi.[5]
Career
editSoe Win worked to promote a positive image of Myanmar overseas, even during the darkest periods of military rule. He joined the Burmese Foreign Service, becoming First Secretary in Washington, DC, from 1987 to 1991. He served as Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Japan until 1999,[citation needed] Pakistan from 1999 to 2003,[citation needed] Australia from 2003 to 2005[citation needed] and also served in Hong Kong and China, before retiring in 2009. Later, he joined the Myanmar Football Association to coach the national team in their unsuccessful bid to win the World Cup in New Zealand in 2015. He once managed Myanmar national under-19 football team and was head of the International department of Myanmar Football Federation.[6][2]
He served as deputy director-general of Protocol from 2006 to 2008. He also served as vice-chairman of the Myanmar-China Friendship Association.[7][8]
Soe Win called the drama Plerng Phra Nang as "unwatchable" and "distasteful" for insult the Burmese royal family and asked government for the series to be taken off the air. The producer, Chitralada Disayanon, argued that the plot was "unrelated to Burma and is completely fictional, with the costumes and setting not meant to evoke any country or time period in particular".[citation needed]
Documentary film
editIn 2017, Soe Win and his uncle Taw Phaya, aunt Hteik Su Phaya Gyi, cousin Devi Thant Sin appeared as the main characters of We Were Kings, a documentary film by Alex Bescoby and Max Jones. The film premiered in Mandalay on 4 November 2017 at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival and also screened in Thailand at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.[9] The film is about Myanmar's history, but also about the descendants of the last kings of Burma who lived unassuming lives in modern Myanmar, unrecognized and unknown.[10][2]
Mission to search for missing royal gems
editKing Thibaw was sent into exile by the British in 1885. He gave the Burmese Crown Jewels, including a giant ruby, to colonel Edward Bosc Sladen for safekeeping but they were never returned. His descendant believes that recovering the long lost royal treasure would restore pride in his nation. Soe Win has been investigating the royal ruby's disappearance with Alex Bescoby, a filmmaker and historian.
On 3 November 2017, he arrived in London in a bid to find the precious giant royal ruby "Nga Mauk" which is said to be the size of a duck egg that was reportedly stolen by a British colonel over 130 years ago. That giant ruby alleged to have been stolen from the Burmese royal family by a British officer Edward Bosc Sladen who took it back to England. He believes that the Nga Mauk ruby was subsequently used by the British royal family in its crown jewels.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ Asaree Thaitrakulpanich (10 March 2017). "Great-grandson of last Burmese king wants Thai soap canceled". Khaosod English. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Lekha Shankar (4 March 2018). "Diplomatically Speaking With U Soe Win". Thailand Tatler. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Robinson, Belinda (3 November 2017). "Burmese royal descendant on mission to discover fate of missing ruby". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Asaree Thaitrakulpanich (10 March 2017). "Great-grandson of last Burmese king wants Thai soap canceled". Khaosod English. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Myanmar's lost royals". BBC News. 24 December 2016. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Lekha Shankar (20 February 2018). "A Myanmar royal is trying hard to restore his country's heritage". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Robinson, Belinda (2 November 2017). "Burmese royal travels to Britain to take 'stolen' ruby from Tower of London". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick (2 November 2017). "Burmese royal arrives in London to demand return of lost ruby 'hidden in the Tower of London'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Pollard, Jim (10 February 2018). "The right to remember Myanmar's last king". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Zuzakar Kalaung (2 November 2017). "We were Kings: Burma's lost royal family". The Myanmar Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Holmes, Oliver (29 December 2016). "After 130 years of obscurity, Myanmar's forgotten royals make a comeback". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Bescoby, Alex (2 November 2017). "Who stole royal ruby?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.