Catherine Desnitski

Catherine Desnitski (Russian: Екатерина Десницкая) (April 27, 1886, Lutsk – January 3, 1960, Paris) was a Ukrainian noblewoman, a participant in the Russo-Japanese War and the holder of the Cross of St. George (1904). She was the wife of the Siamese prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (1906–1919). The story of their love is described in literary works and a ballet by the Kremlin Ballet Company at the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music (2003).[1]

Catherine Desnitski, aged 14
Catherine with Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath of Siam and young Chula Chakrabongse

Childhood

Desnitski was born Katerina Ivanov Desnitskaya. Her father was Ivan Stepanovich Desnitsky.[2] Born in 1838, to a poor rural deacon, he received his early education in a theological seminary. Later he entered Moscow University, graduating from the Faculty of Law in 1866.

During his studies, despite financial difficulties, he married Karolina Karlovna (Klementievna),[3] née Gecklin (?–?1882) a Frenchwoman brought up in the Reformed tradition. They had six children:

  • Vladimir (06/05/1867, Moscow – ?)
  • Hope (07/29/1869, Nizhny Novgorod – ?)
  • Sofia (09/19/1871, Samara – 12/12/1872, Samara)
  • Evgenia (11/26/1873, Samara – ?1942)
  • Nikolay (October 10, 1875, Samara – ?)
  • Alexander (1881, Kiev – ?1943)

Her mother was Maria Mikhailovna Desnitskaya (née Khizhnyakova) (06/20/1851 – winter 1903, Kiev). In 1868, she had graduated with a silver medal from the Poltava Institute of Noble Maidens (now Poltava National Technical University named after Yuri Kondratyuk).

Adult life and marriage

Denitski became a nurse and served in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War and was awarded a medal.[1]

In 1904, Desnitski met the Siamese Prince of Bishnulok, (the second son of the King Rama V), who received a military education in St. Petersburg,[1] and was a graduate of the Page Corps (1902).[4]

In 1906 they married in Istanbul's Greek Church of the Holy Trinity. She had a son Chula Chakrabon on 28 March 1908 and they lived at the Pakruskavan Palace, Bangkok.[1]

In 1919, the Prince and Denitski divorced, but she refused a financial settlement,[1] and left for Shanghai, where her brother had settled and there was a large Russian diaspora. She became involved in charity work there[1] and later married American Harry Clinton Stone. They later moved to Paris, and then Portland, Oregon. Desnitski was buried in Paris.[1]

She met her only granddaughter just once – Narisa Chakrabon (b. 1956), the daughter of her son Chula and his English wife Elizabeth Hunter. In 1995, Narisa Chakrabon, in collaboration with Eileen Hunter (her maternal aunt), published the book Katya and the Prince of Siam.[5][6]

Narissa maintained good relations with her cousins from the Desnitski family in Paris and St. Petersburg. Her son, Catherine's great-grandson, Hugo Chakrabon Levy, a well-known musician and composer in Thailand and abroad, is married to Thai actress Tasanavalai Ongartittichai.[7]

References
  1. "From nurse to duchess". nationthailand. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. Natali. "И я была девушкой юной. Часть II | Литературное обозрение" (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  3. Gazeta.ua (2007-04-17). "Екатерина Десницкая оставила сиамского принца". Gazeta.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  4. "Ukrainian Princess of Thailand". lvivtoday.com.ua. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  5. "Нариса Чакрабон: история Кати и принца Сиама легко повторится сейчас". ТАСС. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  6. Chakrabon, Narisa; Hunter, Eileen. Katya & the Prince of Siam. ISBN 9780904568769.
  7. "И я была девушкой юной. Часть II | Литературное обозрение" (in Russian). litobozrenie.com. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
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