Siam in Trade and War: Royal Maps of the Nineteenth Century
(Co-authored with Henry Ginsburg, Santanee Phasuk, and Daw...)
Co-authored with Henry Ginsburg, Santanee Phasuk, and Dawn F. Rooney; examines historical maps and the political and commercial geography of nineteenth-century Siam.
Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabongse is a Thai publisher, editor, author, and environmental activist. She founded River Books, which publishes works on Southeast Asian art, history, and culture, and founded the Green World Foundation, an organization promoting environmental education in Thailand.
Background
Narisa Chakrabongse was born in England on August 2, 1956, and spent her early childhood at Tredethy in Cornwall. She is the only daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse and Elizabeth Hunter. Her paternal grandfather was Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, Prince of Phitsanulok, a son of King Chulalongkorn of Siam. Because her mother was a foreign commoner, Chakrabongse holds the Thai rank of Mom Rajawongse rather than membership in the Thai royal family.
Her family background connected Thailand with Britain and with the international history of the Chakrabongse family. The family residence in Bangkok, Chakrabongse House, later became associated with Chakrabongse Villas, a boutique hotel and cultural site on the Chao Phraya River.
Education
Chakrabongse studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, part of the University of London, and later pursued Southeast Asian studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. The Courtauld is a specialist institution known for teaching and research in art history, conservation, and curating. SOAS has a distinctive academic tradition centered on the histories, cultures, languages, and arts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Her education connected the study of visual culture with the regional historical and cultural subjects that later shaped her publishing career. River Books subsequently became a vehicle for presenting scholarship and visual documentation of Thailand and mainland Southeast Asia to wider audiences.
Career
Chakrabongse founded River Books in Bangkok, a publishing house established to produce books on Southeast Asian art, history, architecture, and culture. As its publisher and chief executive, she developed a catalog that includes illustrated cultural histories, art books, guides, translations, and works relating to the Chakrabongse family. River Books has also distributed and published English-language works for readers in Thailand and abroad.
Her editorial work has included the Oxford-River Books English-Thai Dictionary and books on Bangkok, Siamese history, royal residences, material culture, and historical photography. She has written, edited, translated, and provided commentary for books including Katya & the Prince of Siam, Letters from St. Petersburg, and works on Bangkok and the history of the Chakrabongse family.
Chakrabongse founded the Green World Foundation in 1990. The organization promotes public knowledge of Thailand's environment through accessible educational materials and learning activities involving schools, communities, educators, and young people. In 2008, she withdrew from the Bangkok leg of the Olympic torch relay for the Beijing Games, citing China's treatment of Tibet.
She has also been associated with Chakrabongse Villas, the family residence in Bangkok that was developed as a boutique hotel and cultural venue. The house preserves family objects, paintings, antiques, and architectural features connected with several generations of the Chakrabongse family.
Achievements
Founded River Books, a Bangkok publishing house specializing in books on Southeast Asian art, history, architecture, and culture.
Founded the Green World Foundation to promote accessible environmental knowledge and education in Thailand.
Edited the Oxford-River Books English-Thai Dictionary and contributed as author, editor, translator, and commentator to books on Thai history, art, culture, and the Chakrabongse family.
Withdrew from the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay in Bangkok as a public protest against China's policies toward Tibet.
(Translated and presented with commentary and editorial wo...)
2017
Views
Chakrabongse's professional and public work reflects an interest in preserving cultural memory and making knowledge of Thailand and Southeast Asia accessible through books, images, translation, and education. Her environmental work emphasizes public understanding of local ecological conditions and the role of schools and communities in developing that understanding.
Her withdrawal from the 2008 Olympic torch relay expressed opposition to China's policies toward Tibet and linked her environmental and cultural public profile with a concern for human rights and international responsibility.
Membership
Chakrabongse has served on the board of the Anglo-Thai Society, an organization devoted to strengthening relations and cultural exchange between Thailand and the United Kingdom. Her participation connected her publishing and cultural work with an association focused on bilateral understanding and social exchange.
Served on the board.
Anglo-Thai Society
,
Thailand
Interests
Thai and Southeast Asian art, history, architecture, cultural heritage, environmental education, and the preservation of family history.
Connections
Chakrabongse is the daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse and Elizabeth Hunter. She married Allen Levy, with whom she has a son, the musician Hugo Chula Alexander Levy, also known as Chulachak Chakrabongse. After their divorce, she married Korsvasti Svasti Thomson, and they have a son, Dominic Phuwasawat Chakrabongse.
Her family connections are also central to her cultural work. She inherited and helped preserve Chakrabongse House in Bangkok, whose history and collections became subjects of her book A House by the River.
Father:
Prince Chula Chakrabongse
Prince Chula was a member of the Thai royal family, author, and motor-racing patron.
Mother:
Elizabeth Hunter
British-born wife of Prince Chula Chakrabongse.
husband:
Allen Levy
Chakrabongse's first husband; their son is the musician Hugo Chula Alexander Levy.
husband:
Korsvasti Svasti Thomson
Chakrabongse's second husband and father of her son Dominic Phuwasawat Chakrabongse.
Son:
Hugo Chula Alexander Levy
Musician and singer, also known as Chulachak Chakrabongse.
Son:
Dominic Phuwasawat Chakrabongse
Environmental activist.
References
Green World Foundation official history
Documents the foundation of Green World Foundation by Narisa Chakrabongse and its purpose of disseminating knowledge about Thailand's environment.
A House by the River
Publisher page describing Chakrabongse's history of Chakrabongse House, its family collections, and her publishing and hospitality work.
2026
Narisa Chakrabongse, M. R.
Library authority record documenting Chakrabongse's authorship, editing, translation, and contributions to books on Thai and Southeast Asian art, history, and culture.
