Palden Thondup Namgyal

Palden thondup Namgyal was born on 23 May 1923 at the Royal Palace, Park Ridge, Gangtok.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-12#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=42&xywh=-1091%2C133%2C4414%2C2835 |title=Birth of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/12 |year=1923 |location=Gangtok |pages=43 |language=Tibetan |chapter=Notice from Lobzang Choden Kazi announcing the birth of Palden Thondup Namgyal, 04 Jun 1923 |access-date=30 September 2022}}

At six, he became a student at St. Joseph's Convent in Kalimpong,{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=40&xywh=-710%2C94%2C4180%2C2685 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/30 |year=1930 |location=Gangtok |pages=41 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to Princess Choni Wangmo Namgyal regarding the admission of Crown Prince Kunzang Paljor Namgyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal and Princess Pema Tsedeun Namgyal, 23 Sep 1930 |access-date=30 September 2022}} but had to terminate his studies due to attacks of malaria.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=342&xywh=-153%2C468%2C2871%2C1844 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP880/1/5/30 |year=1931 |location=Gangtok |pages=343 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to the Private Secretary regarding the withdrawal of Palden Thondup Namgyal from the school, 14 Nov 1931 |access-date=30 September 2022}}{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-30#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=348&xywh=-240%2C322%2C3386%2C2175 |title=Correspondence and reports regarding the education of the Princes and Princesses in Kalimpong, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/30 |year=1931 |location=Gangtok |pages=348–349 |chapter=Letter from Mother Clare, Superioress of St. Joseph's Convent (Kalimpong) to the Private Secretary regarding the health of Crown Prince Kunzang Paljor Namgyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal and Princess Pema Tsedeun Namgyal, 26 Nov 1931 |quote="I heard from out doctor that they had terrible cases of malignant malaria from Rangpo in the hospital the whole year round" |access-date=30 September 2022}} From age eight to eleven he studied under his uncle, Rimpoche Lhatsun, in order to be ordained a Buddhist monk; he was subsequently recognised as the reincarnated leader of both Phodong and Rumtek monasteries.{{Cite book |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2753600 |title=List of Chief and leading families in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet |publisher=Political Branch, Sikkim Agency Office |year=1939 |location=New Delhi |pages=23 |chapter=List of Chiefs and leading families in Sikkim: Sikkim Part I |quote="He is the abbot of the Phodang monastery and has received religious teaching from Lhatsun Rimpoche." |access-date=3 October 2022 |url-access=registration |via=National Archives of India}} He later continued his studies at St. Joseph's College in Darjeeling and finally graduated from Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, in 1941.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-32#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=198&xywh=-208%2C269%2C2977%2C1912 |title=Personal correspondence of Tashi Namgyal (Chogyal r.1914-1963) and his sons in Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/32 |location=Gangtok |pages=199 |chapter=Report cards of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Prince Jigdal Tsewang Namgyal, 13 Jun 1940 |access-date=30 September 2022}} His plans to study science at Cambridge were dashed when his elder brother, the crown prince, a member of the Indian Air Force was killed in a plane crash in 1941.{{Cite book |url=https://indianculture.gov.in/flipbook/119286 |title=Progress Report of Maharaja Kunwar Paljor Namgyal, Eldest Son of the Maharaja of Sikkim under Training in the Air Force. Report of His Death in an Air Accident in Peshawar |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Branch 'X' |year=1941 |location=New Delhi |access-date=30 September 2022 |via=National Archives of India}} He underwent training for Indian Civil Service at Dehradun I.C.S. Camp.{{Cite book |last=Rustomji |first=Nari K. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/enchantedfrontie0000rust/page/20/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Enchanted Frontiers: Sikkim, Bhutan and India's North-Eastern Frontiers |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1971 |location=Bombay |pages=19–21 |chapter=First Contacts with Sikkim and Bhutan |access-date=3 October 2022 |chapter-url-access=registration}}

Namgyal served as adviser for internal affairs for his father, Sir Tashi Namgyal, the 11th Chogyal, and led the negotiating team which established Sikkim's relationship to India after independence in 1949.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-6-22#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=15&xywh=805%2C846%2C2595%2C1667 |title=History of Sikkim and its rulers, British Library, EAP 880/1/6/22 |year=1967 |location=Gangtok |pages=16 |access-date=1 October 2022}} He married Samyo Kushoe Sangideki in 1950, a daughter of an important Tibetan family of Lhasa,{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-72#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=2&xywh=-670%2C-49%2C4215%2C2707 |title=Marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982) to Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/72 |publisher=Sikkim Government Press |year=1950 |location=Gangtok |pages=3 |chapter=Itinerary for the marriage ceremony of Palden Thondup Namgyal to Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, 1950 |access-date=30 September 2022}} and together they had two sons and a daughter. Samyo Kushoe Sangideki died in 1957.{{Cite book |last=Namgyal |first=Palden Thondup |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-1#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=6&xywh=78%2C1222%2C2182%2C1401 |title=Death of Princess Sangay Deki Namgyal, British Library, EAP 880/1/5/1 |year=1957 |location=Gangtok |pages=7 |chapter=Wireless message to Samdruphodrang in Tibet, 1957 |access-date=30 September 2022}}

File:Koning en koningin van Sikkim (1966).jpg

In 1963, Namgyal married Hope Cooke, a 22-year-old American socialite from New York City;"Invitation card for the marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo), 20 Mar 1963". [https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-52#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=38&xywh=-660%2C-125%2C3875%2C2488 Marriage of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/52]. Gangtok. 1963. p. 39. Retrieved 30 September 2022. she was a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers in the state of New York.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-1-301#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=21&xywh=118%2C287%2C2853%2C1832 |title=The King and Queen of Sikkim, an interview by Joshep Newman, British Library, EAP 880/1/1/301 |year=1964 |location=Gangtok |pages=20 |chapter=Television interview of Palden Thondup Namgyal and Hope Cooke Namgyal (Gyalmo) in WNEW-TV's "Under Discussion" |quote="Princess Hope, would you be very much surprised to hear that one of your professors said, before you graduated from Sarah Lawrence, that you had become a very distinguished authority on Buddhism." |access-date=1 October 2022}}{{Cite book |last=Cooke |first=Hope |url=https://archive.org/details/timechangeautobi00cook/page/52/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Time Change: An Autobiography |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1980 |location=New York |pages=52-60, 73-81 |isbn=978-0-671-41225-8 |access-date=1 October 2022 |url-access=registration}} The marriage brought worldwide media attention to Sikkim. The couple, who had two children, divorced in 1980.{{Cite news |date=4 July 1980 |title=Former Queen of Sikkim seeks divorce |pages=2 |work=The Straits Times |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19800704-1.1.2 |access-date=1 October 2022}}

Shortly after Namgyal's marriage, his father died and he was crowned the new Chogyal on an astrologically favourable date in 1965.{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-165#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-884%2C-1%2C3959%2C2543 |title=Coronation of Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/165 |year=1965 |location=Gangtok |pages=1, 3–8 |language= |chapter=Notes on the official coronation ceremony of Palden Thondup Namgyal as the twelfth ruler ascending the throne |access-date=1 October 2022}} In 1975{{explain|date=August 2020}}, the Prime Minister of Sikkim appealed to the Indian Parliament for Sikkim to become a state of India.

In April of that year, the Indian Army took over the city of Gangtok and disarmed the Chogyal's palace guards. A referendum on abolishing the monarchy was held in the Kingdom of Sikkim on 14 April 1975 and the people of Sikkim voted 59,637 to 1,496 for Indian statehood and the ouster of their Chogyal, or ruler, Palden Thondup Namgyal, who was under Indian army guard in his palace in Gangtok.{{Cite news |date=April 16, 1975 |title=Sikkim Votes to End Monarchy, Merge With India |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/16/archives/sikkim-votes-to-end-monarchy-merge-with-india.html |work=The New York Times}}

In November 1976, Namgyal allegedly attempted suicide by consuming barbiturates and was airlifted to IPGMER and SSKM Hospital.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/30/obituaries/palden-thondup-namgyal-deposed-sikkim-king-dies.html|title = Palden Thondup Namgyal, Deposed Sikkim King, Dies|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 30 January 1982|last1 = Krebs|first1 = Albin}} He was successfully treated by Professor Dr. Amal Kumar Bose, Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Respiratory Care Unit at the SSKM hospital.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19761115-sikkim-chogyals-waning-hope-819431-2015-04-11|title = Sikkim: Chogyal's waning hope| date=11 April 2015 }}

Namgyal died of cancer at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, United States on 29 January 1982. He was 58 years old at the time of his death.{{cite news |title=Palden Thondup Namgyal, Deposed Sikkim King, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/30/obituaries/palden-thondup-namgyal-deposed-sikkim-king-dies.html |quote=The deposed King of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal, who had been undergoing treatment for cancer in New York, died last night from complications following an operation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was 58 years old. A family spokesman said his body was to be flown home to Sikkim for the funeral. ... |newspaper=New York Times |date= 30 January 1982 |access-date=17 September 2014 }}{{Cite book |last=Densapa |first=J. T. |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-6-39#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-583%2C158%2C3782%2C2429 |title=Sikkim Durbar Gazette, British Library, EAP 880/1/6/39 |publisher=Sikkim Government Press |year=1982 |location=Gangtok |pages=1 |chapter=Notification on Palden Thondup Namgyal's death |access-date=1 October 2022}} Upon his death, 31 members of the State Legislative Assembly offered khadas to the Chogyal as a mark of respect.

File:King and Queen of Sikkim and their daughter watch birthday celebrations, Gangtok, Sikkim (LOC ppmsca.30171).jpg, Sikkim in May 1971]]

Namgyal was an amateur radio operator, call-sign AC3PT, and was a highly sought after contact on the airwaves.{{Cite journal |last=Schenck |first=Bob |date=December 2020 |title=AC3PT Sikkim 1974- Amateur Radio's role in a World Event |url=https://simonthewizard.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/cq-amateur-radio-e2849612-december-2020-2.pdf |journal=CQ Amateur Radio |pages=92–95 |access-date=1 October 2022}}{{Cite journal |last=Essery |first=E. P. |date=June 1975 |title=Communication and DX News |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Short-Wave-UK/70s/SWM-1975-06.pdf |journal=The Short Wave Magazine |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=200 |access-date=1 October 2022}}{{Cite book |last=Geerken |first=Horst H. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqhUdrlRDFUC&pg=PA288 |title=Der Ruf des Geckos: 18 erlebnisreiche Jahre in Indonesien |publisher=A BukitCinta Book |pages=288–295 |translator-last=McCann |translator-first=Bill |trans-title=A Gecko for Luck: 18 Years in Indonesia |chapter=Our Second House and Ham Radio Experiences |date=5 May 2015 |isbn=9783839152485 |access-date=1 October 2022}}{{Cite book |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP880-1-5-40#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=30&xywh=-324%2C233%2C3339%2C2144 |title=Telecommunications device gifted to Palden Thondup Namgyal (Chogyal r.1965-1982), British Library, EAP 880/1/5/40 |year=1963 |location=Gangtok |pages=30 |chapter=List of items shipped by Ack Radio Company, U.S.A. to Palden Thondup Namgyal, 15 Nov 1963 |access-date=1 October 2022}} The international callbook listed his address as: P.T. Namgyal, The Palace, Gangtok, Sikkim.{{Cite book |last=Dutta-Ray |first=Sunanda K. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.131331/page/n325/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Smash and Grab: The Annexation of Sikkim |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |year=1984 |location=New Delhi |pages=298 |chapter=Thumb Impression |author-link=Sunanda K. Datta-Ray |access-date=1 October 2022}}

He financed the documentary Sikkim (1971) by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.{{cite book|last= Robinson|first=Andrew|title=Satyajit Ray: the inner eye|url=https://archive.org/details/satyajitrayinner00robi_0|url-access= registration|quote= Sikkim documentary -inpublisher:icon.|year=1989|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-06946-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/satyajitrayinner00robi_0/page/275 275]|chapter=26 Documentaries}}

Namgyal shaped a "model Asian state" where the literacy rate and per capita income were twice as high as neighbours Nepal, Bhutan and India.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/08/books/the-fairy-tale-that-turned-nightmare.html?pagewanted=2|title = The Fairy Tale That Turned Nightmare?|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 8 March 1981|last1 = Gray|first1 = Francine Du Plessix}}

His first son, the former crown prince Tenzing Kunzang Jigme Namgyal, died in 1978 in a car accident.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/14/archives/tenzing-namgyal-prince-of-sikkim-he-liked-soccer-and-archery.html|title=Tenzing Namgyal, Prince of Sikkim|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 March 1978}} His second son from his first marriage, Tobgyal Wangchuk Tenzing Namgyal, was named the 13th Chogyal, but the position no longer confers any official authority.

His son from his second marriage, Palden Gyurmed Namgyal, moved to New York aged nine with his mother and sister, being educated at Dalton School. He would go on to work for JPMorgan Chase, becoming a managing director. He was dismissed in 2003 following an incident of sexual harassment against a colleague.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/07/business/2-wall-st-firings-said-to-be-linked-to-harassment.html|title = 2 Wall St. Firings Said to Be Linked To Harassment|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 7 March 2003|last1 = McGeehan|first1 = Patrick}}

(ribbon bar, as it would look today)

• {{flag|Kingdom of Sikkim}}:
• 50px Order of the Precious Jewel of the Heart of Sikkim (Founder), September 1972

• {{flag|India}}:
• 50px Padma Vibhushan, 22 February 1954{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Padma Awards |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028182142/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India}}{{Cite book |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/1547186 |title=Conferment of a Military rank on Maharaj Kumar P.T. Namgyal, OBE of Sikkim. |publisher=Press Information Bureau |year=1954 |location=New Delhi |pages=7 |access-date=3 October 2022 |url-access=registration |via=National Archives of India}}

• {{flag|United Kingdom}}
• 50px Order of the British Empire (OBE), 1 January 1947
• 50px Indian Independence Medal, 1948

• {{flag|France}}
• 50px Order of the Black Star (Commandeur), 1956

• {{flag|Nepal}}
• 50px King Mahendra Investiture Medal, 2 May 1956
• 50px King Birendra Investiture Medal, 24 February 1975

• {{flag|Bhutan}}
• 50px King Jigme Singye Investiture Medal, 2 June 1974[http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/savifadok/315/1/Coronation.pdf Final Programmes for The Coronation and The Silver Jubilee Celebration]

• History of Sikkim

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/33183728@N00/tags/chogyal/ Photos of Palden Thondup Namgyal]

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{{s-hou|House of Namgyal|23 May|1923|29 January|1982}}

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{{s-bef|before=Tashi Namgyal}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chogyal of Sikkim|years=2 December 1963 – 10 April 1975}}

{{s-non|reason=Title abolished|reason2=Sikkim accession to India}}

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{{s-new|reason=}}

{{s-tul|title=Chogyal of Sikkim|years=10 April 1975 – 29 January 1982|reason=Sikkim accession to India}}

{{s-aft|after=Wangchuk Namgyal}}

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{{Chogyals of Sikkim}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1954–59}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namgyal, Palden Thondup}}

Category:1923 births

Category:1982 deaths

Category:Buddhist monarchs

Category:Monarchs of Sikkim

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs

Category:Indian amateur radio operators

Category:Amateur radio people

Category:Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni

Category:Exiled royalty