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Burmese prince
Prince
George Taw Phaya Gyi
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Born
| (
1922-05-06
)
6 May 1922
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Died
| 9 April 1948
(1948-04-09)
(aged 25)
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Cause of death
| Assassinated
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Nationality
| Burmese
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Alma mater
| Rangoon University
(BA)
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Known for
| Heir to the Throne of Burma
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Spouse
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Children
| Soe Win
Myo Naing
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Parent(s)
| Ko Ko Naing
Myat Phaya Galay
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Relatives
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Prince George Taw Phaya Gyi
(
Burmese
:
?????????????
; 6 May 1922 ? 9 April 1948) was a Burmese prince and heir to the
defunct throne
of Burma (abolished in 1885). He was the eldest son of Princess
Myat Phaya Galay
and the grandson of
King Thibaw
and
Queen Supayalat
. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese government sought to set up Burma as a puppet kingdom within
its empire
with him as its puppet ruler.
Biography
[
edit
]
Taw Phaya Gyi was born on 6 May 1922 in
Rangoon
,
British Burma
to Ko Ko Naing, a former monk and Princess
Myat Phaya Galay
, who was the fourth daughter of King Thibaw and Chief Queen
Supayalat
. He studied at St Patrick’s High School Moulmein,
St Paul’s School
in
Rangoon
and graduated with a
baccalaureate
from
Rangoon University
in 1945.
Both the British and Japanese considered Taw Phaya Gyi as crown prince. His mother Myat Phaya Galay has been handed over the defunct throne of Burma with a contract while her mother
Supayalat
was still alive, meaning her eldest son was considered heir to the throne.
[1]
Puppet king and post-war
[
edit
]
During the
Japanese occupation
, the Japanese government retained Burma within its empire but hoped to make Taw Phaya Gyi the country's puppet ruler, putting him under military guard and plotting to assassinate Burma's prime minister
Ba Maw
. Taken to
Bangkok
as the war worsened for the Japanese, he was summoned back at the war's end by the Thai government and Britain. Before leaving Bangkok, Taw Phaya Gyi signed a decree as the 12th King of Konbaung to release Burmese prisoners held in Moulmein by the Japanese.
[1]
After the war, he and his younger sister Princess
Hteik Su Phaya Htwe
opened a gymnasium. After Burma gained independence, he served as Petrol Rationing Officer with the Department of Civil Supplies. In April 1948, on his way to
Maymyo
on a business trip, he was assassinated at
Tatkon
in Central Burma by Communist insurgents, who mistook him for a police officer.
[2]
Family
[
edit
]
In 1945 he married his first wife Khin Kyi in Rangoon - she was
Ba Maw
's niece and later became the first Burmese woman to earn a master's degree in sports. He had a son,
Soe Win
with her in 1947, whilst another son, Myo Naing, was born to his second marriage in 1948.
See also
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]
References
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]