baodai

       The last monarch to reign over modern Vietnam, which was also called the Empire of Annam, was Prince Nguyen Vinh Thuy. He was born on October 22, 1913 in Hue, the son of Emperor Khai Dinh. In 1926, at the age of 13, Prince Nguyen Vinh Thuy succeeded to the Golden Throne as the Son of Heaven and took as his reigning name, Bao Dai which means "Keeper of Greatness". At the time of his father's death Bao Dai had been in Paris attending school. After his enthronement he returned to France to finish his education while the regency ruled Vietnam in his absence.
        In 1926, Emperor Bao Dai actually came to power and inherited the authority, weak as it may be, that went along with his title. He was determined to make Vietnam a more modern and prosperous nation. He was a champion of judicial and educational reforms, as well as doing away with some of the more archaic practices of the court at Hue. For example, one of his first acts was to abolish the traditional kowtow, the act of courtiers bowing with their forehead touching the ground to show reverence to the Son of Heaven. However, even as reigning emperor, Bao Dai was never free to rule as he saw fit, Paris always had to have the last word and the President of France actually held more power over the Vietnamese than their own Emperor and the Son of Heaven.
        In 1934 the Emperor was married. The wedding occured on March 24 when he took as his wife Jeanette Nguyen-Huu-Hao who then became known as Empress Nam Phuong. The couple eventually had 5 children, 2 sons and 3 daughters. These were: Crown Prince Bao Long, Prince Bao Thang, Princess Phuong Mai, Princess Phuong Lien and Princess Phuong Dung. However, personal happiness was overshadowed by international turmoil. With Nazi Germany making aggressive moves against France, Emperor Bao Dai took the opportunity to ask for greater autonomy for his country. The French realized he was aiming for full independence and used the outbreak of World War II as an excuse to delay talks. When France was conquered by Germany the new Vichy government of collaborators dictated policy to Vietnam. It was the French who allowed the Japanese to use bases in their territory for their conquest of Southeast Asia. Japan invaded and promptly declared that they had liberated Vietnam from foreign rule. Emperor Bao Dai declared the independence of Vietnam, but with the Japanese in control of the country, little actually changed, control simply passed from Paris to Tokyo.
        It was also during this time, just as in China, that the Communists began to spread their doctrines throughout Vietnam. By 1945 the feared VietMinh had risen in rebellion under the infamous Marxist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh who forced Emperor Bao Dai to abdicate his throne. The country fell into chaos as the communists clashed with the French, the traditionalists and those who favored a western-style democracy. In 1949 nations such as Great Britain and the USA looked hopeful when Emperor Bao Dai was restored to the Vietnamese throne. It was hoped that this modern and shrewd monarch would make Vietnam a free constitutional monarchy. However, once again Bao Dai was given little chance to prove himself. Vietnam became a democratic monarchy but the French refused to give Bao Dai full independence. In 1954 Vietnam was partitioned and the Emperor was forced to accept the U.S.-backed Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister. Despite swearing an oath of obedience to the Emperor in 1955 Diem orchastrated a rigged plebscite to abolish the monarchy. With his henchmen "supervising" all of the polls the result was an embarassingly high 99% in favor of Diem. After this blatant democratic farce he assumed power, a Catholic in a nation of Buddhists and propped up by America when Vietnam distrusted all foreigners.
        Emperor Bao Dai, the last Son of Heaven was forced to abdicate once again. He went into exile in France where he continued to speak out for peace and unity in his native country. Emperor Bao Dai died in a military hospital in Paris in 1997.