On 8 February 2019, Mr. Tull Traisorat, Minister and Charge d’Affaires, Royal Thai Embassy, London, presided over the opening ceremony of the Exhibition ‘Siam Through the Lens of John Thomson’ at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester.

The Exhibition is organised by M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse and curated by Ms Betty Yao and has received support from Leicester City Council and also from the Thai private sector, namely the King Power Group, Chang Beer, Monsoon Valley and River Books.

John Thomson was a Scottish professional photographer who was the first to have been given permission to take photographs of King Mongkut and the Thai Royal Family during the mid- 19^th Century. The Exhibition provides the Leicester community with a unique opportunity to view rare photographs of Siam. This will help enhance people-to-people contacts and promote knowledge and better understanding of the Thai culture, traditions and ways of life among the UK public. The highlights of the Exhibition are historical photographs of King Mongkut and the young Crown Prince Chulalongkorn, who later became King Rama V.