Queen drowned in front of onlookers

On pain of death, do not touch Queen Sunandha! Sunanda Kumariratana (Thai: สุนันทากุมารีรัตน์; rtgs: Sunantha Kumarirat, 10 November 1860 – 31 May 1880) was a queen consort of Siam. She was a daughter of Siamese King Mongkut (Rama IV) and Princess Consort Piam. She was the half-sister and first wife of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam (now Thailand). The kings's other two wives were her full-sibling younger sisters, Queen Savang Vadhana and Queen Saovabha Bhongsi. The queen and her daughter drowned when her royal boat capsized on the way to the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace (Summer Palace). The many witnesses to the accident did not dare to touch the queen, a capital offense—not even to save her life.[1]:5 The grief-stricken Chulalongkorn later erected a memorial to her and their unborn child at Bang Pa-In Palace. Sunandha Kumariratana was born on 10 November 1860 as the daughter of King Mongkut of Siam (Rama IV) and Princess Consort Piam. She was first Queen consort of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam and also his half-sister. All of his four wives were also his half-sisters. King Mongkut had at least 82 children with various consorts and concubines. Sunandha Kumariratana had a daughter on 12 august 1878, named Kannabhorn Bejaratana and she was pregnant again when tragedy struck on 31 May 1880. While on the way to the Summer Palace Bang Pa-In the royal boat she and her daughter were travelling on capsized. They were many onlookers who witnessed the capsizing but they were unable to help. They were forbidden from touching the Queen on pain of death, even if it meant that they couldn’t save her life. They were even instructed to do nothing by a guard on another boat, though he was later punished for his strict view of the law in such circumstances. So sad that this tragedy could have been avoided.