Baan M.L. Nueang Nilrat: Four Reigns

“My parents had an arranged marriage. So my father, M.R. Un Nilrat, ran away and didn’t come back until months later, leaving my mother alone for awhile.” Shortly after their second reunion, M.L. Nueng Nilrat was born, almost three years after the passing of King Rama V.

At the age of one M.L. Nueng was adopted and raised by her grandmother, Mom Chao Sabai, who was in charge of the kitchen for Phra Ong Chao Vimada, one of King Rama V’s consorts. “My parents gave me up because their previous newborn died and a monk told them to give the next one to someone with a higher rank and the baby would live. They did.”

Life in Suan Sunanta Palace was routine. M.L. Nueng helped in the kitchen, doing all kinds of chores her grandmother asked her to. Admittedly, she says, “I didn’t like working in the kitchen at all, but I had no choice. We also had to learn to arrange bouquets, flowers in footed trays and wreaths. That was our way of life then.”

Being under the wings of such a visionary princess as Chao Fah Nipanoppadon, who established Nipakarn School in Suan Sunanta Palace, the girls had to attend classes and take exams, just like any other students outside the palace – M.L. Nueng included.

Then the critical time came in the year 2475 B.E., during the period of Kind Rama VII when there was a change in the political scene and many royal families had to move out of their palaces. “Many of the princesses went to Penang, taking with them their favourite ladies in waiting. The rest were sent back to their homes.”

That was the first time since she was a baby that M.L. Nueng got to live with her parents again, and she took on a full-time career as a teacher earning a large sum of 16 baht a month. “That was one of my most memorable periods. I made a living with skills I learned from the palace; tapestry, cooking and poetry. No one flunked in my class. I made sure they really understood the lessons.” She was a teacher for over 20 years.

Prior to accepting a marriage proposal from her future husband, she only asked for three things: she wouldn’t have to cook, she’d keep her maiden name and they’d have nannies for their children. He agreed and kept his promises.

At the ripe age of 72, M.L. Nueng began her famous career as a writer. Initially she contributed to Ploy Kam Petch magazine twice a month. Soon she had her own pocket books titled ‘Chivid nai wang’ (Life in the palace), and ‘Chivid nok wang’ (Life outside the palace). Both the columns and the books became instant hits since day one, making her one of the most recognized authors in Thailand.

M.L. Nueng just celebrated her 95^th birthday this past October.

The first ancestor of the Nilaratna family was His Royal Highness Prince Nilaratna, a son of H.M. King Buddha Lertla Naphalai and Chao Chom Manda Pim. The family name of Nilaratna was granted by H.M. King Vajiravudh in 1915.