Mater Dei, in Ploenchit Road, was primarily a Catholic girls school but it allowed boys to enrol in its |kindergarten and early primary education.
Prince Ananda Mahidol, who enrolled in 1930 and was given 273 as his student ID number.
He was made King of Thailand – Rama VIII – in 1935.
His brother, then Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej, joined the Mater Dei school in 1930 and was student number 449.
He became King in 1946 after his brother’s untimely death.
Tassanee, a Thai woman now retired and living in Brisbane in Australia, said although the two princes left Mater Dei to study abroad, every time they returned to the Kingdom they would visit their first school.
“The Sisters [who ran the school] were telling us to strictly dress properly, behave in the best manner and line up to meet and greet the two Princes – and that is what we had to do, with no idea of how important the two Princes were,” she said.
Later, when Tassanee had graduated from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy at Chulalongkorn University, her parents sent her Down Under to further her higher education.

“Represent Thai people”
She went to Melbourne University as a graduate student in economics before beginning her first career working for Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Her job gave her the opportunity to meet high-profile Thai officials, and that included the chance to meet with His Majesty King Bhumibol – both in Australia and the United States.
She recalled meeting His Majesty when the King visited Australia with HM Queen Sirikit in 1962. She said, humbly, that the opportunity arrived not because she was an important person.
“There was only a small number of Thai people in Australia [then],” she said. “And knowing I was the only Thai woman working for an Australian organisation at the time, His Majesty said that we had to work hard – to represent Thai people, make good the name of Thai people and make a good name for Thailand.”
With teary eyes, she said His Majesty had work tirelessly and devoted to his life to his country and always set a good example when representing Thailand whenever he visited other countries around the world.
“As a divine King, as he was, I will always remember how grounded |and simple he was as a person,” she said.
“This taught me to be humble and appreciate every good opportunity in life with humility.
“It is His Majesty teachings that I will forever keep close to my heart – and pass on to my children.”
Tassanee was among many Thais in Australia who joined a Memorial Service for HM the |King in Queensland, organised |last Saturday by the Thai |Honorary Consulate Office in Brisbane at the Brisbane Convention Centre.
Nearly 2,000 Thais and friends of Thais attended the ceremony including Queensland governor, the Hon Sir Paul de Jersey.