A Cross of St. George medal was awarded to Kateryna Desnytska in 1904 for her voluntary medical service during the Russo-Japanese War. This early commitment to nursing established a path for a life that spanned the Russian Empire, the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and ultimately, France, where she spent her final years following a complex series of geopolitical and personal shifts.
Early Life and Medical Training
Born in 1886 in Lutsk, Desnytska belonged to a large family of twelve children. After her father, a district judge, passed away during her childhood, she relocated with her mother to Kyiv. She completed her secondary education at the Fundukleyiv Women's Gymnasium in 1904. Following the death of her mother that same year, she moved to Saint Petersburg to reside with her godmother and enrolled in a medical nursing school.
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Take the IQ test →Marriage to Siamese Royalty
While in Saint Petersburg, she met Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, a graduate of the Page Corps and son of King Chulalongkorn. Despite their mutual affection, she departed for the front lines in Manchuria to serve as a nurse. Upon her return, she agreed to marry the Prince on the explicit condition of monogamy. The couple wed in 1906 at the Greek Church of the Holy Trinity in Constantinople, as Russian clergy would not perform an interfaith marriage between an Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist.
Life in the Royal Court
Following a honeymoon in Cairo, Desnytska arrived in Siam and mastered both Thai and English within two years. Granted the title of Princess Phitsanulok, she resided at the Paruskavan Palace, where her son, Chula Chakrabongse, was born in 1908. Her status shifted after the death of King Chulalongkorn in 1910, as her husband became heir-apparent to the throne. The marriage eventually suffered due to the Prince engaging in a polygamous relationship, leading to their divorce in 1919.
Later Years and Relocation
Post-divorce, she moved to Peking, where she engaged in work with the Red Cross and the Russian Benevolent Society during a period of civil unrest. She later married an American engineer named Harry Clinton Stone. As the Second Sino-Japanese War intensified, the couple relocated to Paris and then to the United States. She eventually returned to Paris, where she resided until her death in 1960. She is buried in the French capital.
Fast facts
- Born: 1886, Lutsk
- Died: 1960, Paris
- Occupations: Nurse
- Citizenship: United States, Russian Empire, Rattanakosin Kingdom
- Known Languages: French, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Thai, Standard Chinese
- Award: Cross of St. George (1904)
- Award: King Rama VI's Royal Cypher Medal (1914)
- Award: Commander of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
Questions readers ask
Why did Kateryna Desnytska and Chakrabongse Bhuvanath marry in Constantinople?
They chose an Orthodox church there because Russian priests at the time refused to officiate a marriage between a Russian Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist.
What happened to her son after the divorce?
Upon the 1919 divorce, she left her son, Chula Chakrabongse, in Siam with his father.
Achievements
- Commander of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
- King Rama VI's Royal Cypher Medal — 1914
