Editing Anna Leonowens (section)

==Teacher at the Siamese court==
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[[File:Anna Leonowens (1831-1915).jpg|thumb|upright|Anna Leonowens, c. 1862]]
In 1862, Leonowens accepted an offer made by the [[consul (representative)|consul]] in Singapore, [[Tan Kim Ching]], to teach the wives and children of [[Mongkut]], [[Monarchy of Thailand|King of Siam]]. The king wished to give his 39 wives and [[concubine]]s and 82 children a [[liberal education|modern Western education]] on [[science education|scientific]] [[secular education|secular]] lines, which earlier [[Mission (Christian)|missionaries']] wives had not provided. Leonowens sent her daughter Avis to school in England, and took her [[Louis T. Leonowens|son Louis]] with her to [[Bangkok]]. She succeeded [[Dan Beach Bradley]], an American missionary, as teacher to the Siamese [[Noble court|court]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

[[Image:King Mongkut and Prince Chulalongkorn.jpg|thumb|upright|King [[Mongkut]] with his heir, Prince [[Chulalongkorn]], both in naval uniforms (c. 1866)]]
Leonowens served at court until 1867, a period of nearly six years, first as a teacher and later as language secretary for the King. Although her position carried great respect and even a degree of political influence, she did not find the terms and conditions of her employment to her satisfaction. And, despite her position at the king's court, she was never invited into the social circle of the British merchants and traders of the area.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

In 1868, Leonowens was on leave for her health in England and had been negotiating a return to the court on better terms when [[Mongkut#Death and legacy|Mongkut fell ill and died]]. The King mentioned Leonowens and her son in his will, though they did not receive a legacy. The new monarch, fifteen-year-old [[Chulalongkorn]], who succeeded his father, wrote Leonowens a warm letter of thanks for her services. He did not invite her to resume her post, but they corresponded amicably for many years.<ref>"Important Trifles", ''The Washington Post'' (15 May 1887), p. 4.</ref> At the age of 27, Louis Leonowens returned to Siam and was granted a commission of Captain in the Royal Cavalry. Chulalongkorn made reforms for which his former tutor claimed some of the credit, including the abolition of the practice of [[prostration]] before the royal person. However, many of those same reforms were goals that had been established by his father.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}