Taw Phaya

Prince Edward Taw Phaya (Burmese: တော်ဘုရား; also known as Tun Aung, 22 March 1924 – 12 January 2019) was the Pretender to the Throne of Burma (abolished in 1885). He was the second son of Princess Myat Phaya Galay, the fourth daughter of King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat.[1] Upon the death of his aunt Myat Phaya Lat in 1956, he became the Head of the Royal House of Konbaung.[2]

Taw Phaya
Prince Taw Phaya
Head of the Royal House of Konbaung
Tenure4 April 1956 –
12 January 2019
PredecessorMyat Phaya Lat
SuccessorPrince Richard Taw Phaya Myat Gyi
Born(1924-03-22)22 March 1924
Maymyo, British Burma
Died12 January 2019(2019-01-12) (aged 94)
Pyin U Lwin, Myanmar
Spouse
Phaya Rita
(m. 1944; died 2019)
Issue5 sons, 2 daughters:
  • Richard Taw Phaya Myat Gyi
  • David Taw Phaya Myat
  • Edward Taw Phaya Myat Nge
  • Joseph Taw Phaya Myat Aye
  • Paul Taw Phaya Myat Thaike
  • Ann-Marie Su Phaya Lay
  • Rose-Marie Su Phaya Naing
FatherKo Ko Naing
MotherMyat Phaya Galay

Biography

Six siblings of Taw Phaya

Taw Phaya was born on 22 March 1924 in Maymyo, British Burma to Ko Ko Naing, a former monk, and Princess Myat Phaya Galay who was the fourth daughter of King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat.

He attended high school at St. Patrick's High School Moulmein and St. Paul's School in Rangoon. He worked as director of Thibaw Commercial Syndicate (TCS) Co. Ltd in 1951 from 1962. He was also Vice President of Association for Buddhism as the National Religion in 1958.

On 4 May 1944, he married his first cousin, Princess Phaya Rita. She was the daughter of Prince Kodawgyi Naing and Princess Myat Phaya, who was the third daughter of Burma's last king, Thibaw Min and the sister of his mother.

Taw Phaya family was not involved in politics, but supported the military caretaker government's anti-communist mission in 1959. The military officials focused on the Taw Phaya family to be used in the operation and invited them to come Shwebo, was the beginning of the Konbaung dynasty. After seeing local women spreading their hair to welcome the Taw Phaya family, the Tatmadaw thought it could compete with them for power. As a result, the military later ignored the royal family.[3]

Documentary film

In 2017, Taw Phaya and his elder sister Hteik Su Phaya Gyi, nephew Soe Win, niece Devi Thant Sin appeared as the main characters of We Were Kings, a documentary film by Alex Bescoby and Max Jones. The film premiered in Mandalay on 4 November 2017 at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival and also screened in Thailand at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.[4] The film is about Myanmar's history, but also about the descendants of the last kings of Burma who lived unassuming lives in modern Myanmar, unrecognized and unknown.[5]

Death

Taw Phaya died on 12 January 2019 at his Pyin Oo Lwin Residence.[6]

Family

Taw Phaya had five sons and two daughters:

  • Richard Taw Phaya Myat Gyi (born 14 May 1945). Heir and second in line to the throne.
  • David Taw Phaya Myat (born 1 April 1947).
  • Edward Taw Phaya Myat Nge (born 27 April 1948 - died 14 November 1955).
  • Joseph Taw Phaya Myat Aye (born 19 March 1950).
  • Paul Taw Phaya Myat Thaike (born 19 February 1954).
  • Ann-Marie Su Phaya Lay (born 10 September 1952).
  • Rose-Marie Su Phaya Naing (born 21 April 1956).

Ancestry

References

Taw Phaya
Born: 22 March 1924
Royal titles
Preceded by
Myat Phaya Lat
Heir to the Burmese Throne
1956 2019
Succeeded by
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