
Ananda Mahidol, Thailand’s king Rama VIII, died on the 3rd of June, 1946. He was only twenty at the time.
A child when he was elected successor to the throne in 1935, he continued to be educated in Switzerland, not visiting Thailand as king until 1938 when he was thirteen.

Stamp issued 17th April 1941
The Japanese invaded Thailand the same day in 1941 they bombed America’s Pearl Harbor. The young king was not in the country at the time and did not return home until the end of 1945.
Only six months later a single gunshot was heard, and Ananda Mahidol was found dead.

King Ananda Mahidol and Louis Mountbatten. 19th January 1946.
More than one theory has been put forward as to how this happened.
He was the older brother of Bhumibol Adulyadej, who inherited the title and achieved cult status in Thailand; during his long reign both locals and foreigners were imprisoned for insulting him in any way. Even “liking” a Facebook post was enough for some people to be arrested.
The circumstances around Rama VIII’s death are still debated.