Ang Mey

Ang Mey was born in 1815 as the second daughter of Ang Chan II, king of Cambodia during the Oudong period, by his second wife, Neak Moneang Krachap.

After King Ang Chan II died in 1834, there was no heir apparent to the Khmer throne. The king had no son but four daughters: Princess Baen, Mey, Peou and Sngon.[4] This delighted Vietnam and Siam, both of which wanted to eliminate the royal rulers in Cambodia. Although Ang Chan's surviving brothers, Ang Im and Ang Duang, immediately laid claim to the throne, the Vietnamese then occupying Cambodia did not allow them to be crowned.[5]

Instead, the Vietnamese emperor and the Cambodian courtiers chose to install Ang Chan II's eldest daughter, Princess Ang Baen, as the sovereign. However, she was passed over due to her being sympathetic to the Thai court's interests and her refusal to marry the emperor's son.[6] Ang Mey was an alternative to her sister, Baen. A Thai manuscript stated that the Vietnamese had tried to persuade Ang Mey to marry the son of emperor Gia Long in order to facilitate the incorporation of Cambodia into Vietnam, however this plan was abandoned at strong objections from Cambodian nobles.[7]

In May 1835, Ang Mey was crowned with the title of quan-chua (郡主) or "Commandery Princess," a title of princess which was lower than gong-chua (公主), bestowed by the court of Hué. Her three sisters were given the title huyen quan (縣君), or "sub-prefecture ladies".[8] The Vietnamese kept close guard over the Ang princesses. Queen Ang Mey had two companies of soldiers, 100 men in total, for her personal protection. The other three Cambodian princesses were each assigned thirty soldiers. Ostensibly for their safety, the guards were in reality assigned to ensure that they did not escape.[9]

During Ang Mey's reign, all Cambodian women were ordered to wear Vietnamese-style pyjamas instead of the khmer sampot (similar to the sarong), and had to grow their hair long in Vietnamese style.[10][11] The market sold only Vietnamese food. Khmer classical dance had assimilated elements of Vietnamese and Chinese tradition. Cambodian officials had to don Vietnamese ceremonial garb. Wats were destroyed in order to eradicate the Khmer identity.[12] Places also received Vietnamese names. The area around Phnom Penh was renamed from Annam to Tran Tay, or "Western Commandery".[13] The Cambodian people, not accustomed to be ruled by a Queen and despairing of the "Vietnamization" of their country, asked the Siamese to install a male ruler, Ang Duong, brother of Ang Chan II.[14]

In 1840, the elder sister of Ang Mey, Princess Baen, was discovered corresponding with her mother and uncle who were living in Battambang and planning to escape to them. The princess was imprisoned pending her trial in Phnom Penh. The Vietnamese emperor, Minh Mạng, demoted Mey and the other princesses. In August 1841 they were all arrested and deported to Vietnam along with the royal regalia.[15] Around that time, some of Ang Mey's relatives were imprisoned on the island of Poulo Condore. According to Thai and Cambodian sources, Ang Baen was drowned in the Mekong river, although Khin Sok states that Baen was tortured to death by the Vietnamese general and her body thrown in the river.[16]

Spurred by the death of Princess Ang Baen and the absence of their Queen Ang Mey, many Cambodian courtiers and their followers revolted against the Vietnamese rule. Seizing the opportunity Siam invaded Cambodia in an attempt to install Ang Duong on the throne as their own puppet, triggering the Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–45). In an attempt to defuse the rebellion, Vietnamese officials in Phnom Penh called for the return of Mey to Cambodia but the emperor Ming Mang refused. Only when the Vietnamese counter-offensive gained momentum and victory seemed assured was Mey returned to Phnom Penh. Her proclamation in March 1844 intended for the provincial officials and leaders sought their support while Ang Duong issued similar appeals from Oudong for his claim to the throne.[17] Queen Ang Mey was reinstated as a queen and her sisters, Poeu and Sngon, as sub-prefecture rulers, in 1844.

As the warring factions fought to a stalemate in 1845, the Thai and Vietnamese initiated talks to resolve the Cambodian succession. In October 1846, the Vietnamese released the daughter and other family members of Ang Duong to join him in Oudong. Vietnam and Siam forged a compromise whereby both Ang Duong and Ang Mey would rule together are co-sovereigns. However, when the simultaneous coronation was held in Bangkok and Phnom Penh in 1848, records only show Ang Duong's accession to the throne. His niece, Ang Mey, was recorded as his successor instead of co-sovereign.[18]

After her reign concluded, Ang Mey lived with memories of death and dishonour for over twenty years. She did not succeed the throne after Ang Duong's death. His son and heir, Norodom, left her in the care of an old retainer when he and his court moved to Phnom Penh. At Oudong, Ang Mey carried on, although sources described her as "unbalanced" when she took merchandise by her right as queen. Her servants had to intervene to placate the merchants.[19]

She later married an unknown man and had two daughters.[20] She and her husband died in an accident in late December 1874 but were cremated at Phnom Penh in 1884.