On April 25th, 2019 at 09.00 am, Asst. Prof. Dr. Pimporn Thongmuang, Director of the Samut Songkhram Education Center, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, joined  "King Naresuan the Great Memorial Day". Mrs. Sukanda Worachetbancha, Governor of Samut Songkhram Province, presided over the ceremony, along with civil servants, judges, military prosecutors, police, state enterprise employees, and representatives of local government organizations in Samut Songkhram Province.

The Governor of Samut Songkhram Province gave a royal warship, laid a bunch of wreaths, incense sticks, candles, and said the royal praise.

King Naresuan the Great or Sanphet II was the 18th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom and 2nd monarch of the Sukhothai dynasty. He was the king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 and overlord of Lan Na from 1602 until his death in 1605. King Naresuan is one of Thailand's most revered monarchs as he is known for his campaigns to free Ayutthaya from the vassalage of the Taungoo Empire. During his reign, numerous wars were fought against Taungoo Burma. Naresuan also welcomed the Dutch.

In his early life, He was Prince Naret who was born in Phitsanulok in 1555-1556. He was the son of King Mahathammarachathirat of Phitsanulok and his queen consort, Wisutkasat. His mother was a daughter of Maha Chakkraphat and queen consort Suriyothai. His father was a Sukhothai noble who had defeated Worawongsathirat in 1548 and put Maha Chakkraphat on the throne. Prince Naret, also known as the "Black Prince", had a younger brother Ekathotsarot, known as the "White Prince", and an elder sister, Suphankanlaya.

During the siege of Ayutthaya during the Burmese–Siamese War (1563–1564), King Bayinnaung of the Toungoo dynasty of Bago, Burma (formerly known in Burmese as Hanthawaddy and in Thai as RTGS: Hongsawadi) led massive armies, invading the country and laying siege to Phitsanulok. Maha Thammarachathirat came to believe that the city would not be able to withstand a long siege due to a scarcity of food and a smallpox outbreak, so he surrendered the city. King Bayinnaung took Phitsanulok and Ayutthaya, and made Thailand a Burmese tributary state.[3] He required Maha Thammarachathirat to send his son—the Black Prince—to Bago as a royal hostage to ensure the king's fidelity.

Source: Samut Songkhram Public Relations Office

Reporter: Chayanisa Eimparsert