Family Thais
Sir: Alexander Chancellor in his Notebook (30 January) was quite right to observe that `people like Prince Chula Birabongse of Siam' were hardly among those who, according to Rolls-Royce, had 'shaped history'. In fact, apart from the Rolls- Royce advertisement and your notebook, this character has never been mentioned in history as he has never existed.
I believe that Rolls-Royce's copy writers were groping for the name of either my late father, Prince Chula Chakrabongse of Siam, or my uncle, Prince Birabongse Bhanu- bandh. While in world terms neither of these two figures would merit the dubious and unsolicited accolade foisted on them in amalgam by Rolls-Royce, both in their own fields were achievers.
My fathers was a notable historian, who wrote over 50 history books in Thai and English, including the standard work on the Chakri dynasty (in both languages) and many textbooks on Western history for Thai schools. Mr Chancellor might be in- terested to note that he actually translated Hugh Trevor-Roper's book The Last Days of Hitler into Thai.
Prince Birabongse Bhanubandh, under the name of 'B. Bira', was an extremely famous racing driver in the Thirties and Fif- ties. He won the BRDC Gold Star three years running, in 1936, 1937 and 1938, and during that time scored 14 wins in ERA cars both in Great Britain and Europe. My father was his racing manager at this time and recorded their exploits in four best- selling motor-racing books.
In both the fields of motor-racing and writing and lecturing, my father was one of the greatest promoters of Thai-West rela- tions. Although in Western terms, Prince, Chula and Prince Bira have only shaped certain areas of history, in Thailand both would undoubtedly be included in such a list. It is most unfortunate that Rolls-Royce do not do their research more thoroughly and doubly unfortunate that such an elementary mistake is then compounded by your magazine.
Narisa Levy (née Chakrabongse)
The London Toy & Model Museum, 23 Craven Hill, London W2
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