Anna Leonowens is known throughout the world as the governess in the Court of Siam (now known as Thailand) due to the popularity of the musical and movie "The King and I". Many people believed that they were watching a true story, not only regarding the antics of the king but also the importance of Anna in the court. The film, starring Yul Brynner, so insulted the Thai people, that it was banned from being shown in Thailand on grounds of historical and cultural distortions. Now, a remake of the movie has been made by 20th Century Fox called "Anna and the King". Can Hollywood make amends for past misdeeds or will history repeat itself?

This website is brought to you by ThaiStudents.com and is produced by students and teachers at Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan, Thailand. The purpose of this web site is to show the world that "The King and I" and "Anna and the King" are fictionalised stories and that there is little truth within these movies.

LEGAL NOTES: "Anna and the King" was banned from being released in Thailand in 1999. At one stage, pirated Video CD's were being sold in Thailand. One government official was reported in the newspapers as saying that the people could do what they liked in the privacy of their own home. However, the police put their foot down and threatened to prosecute not only the people that were selling the pirate CD, but also anyone that owned copies at home. Although we had seen "Anna and the King" during a school trip to Singapore, in the course of our research we had also bought copies of all the different versions. For a while there was a cause for concern. A movie magazine in the UK reported: "The popular Thai movie website www.thaistudents.com may come under threat from the authorities because of content that includes hundreds of pictures from the movie and also downloads of video clips and trailers." Fortunately, nothing happened and we were able to continue to present both sides of the argument. We believe that in order to be fair, we should give equal space to both the supporters of the film-makers and to those opposed. Views expressed in this web site don't necessarily mirror the views of the owners of Sriwittayapaknam School or Thai Student Associations around the world.

The Truth about Anna Pictures of Old Siam Timeline Original reviews Reasons for the Banning

King Mongkut Illustrations from the books Photographing the King The Private Life of the King Sir John Bowring meets the King Letter to Thai Ambassador to Queen Victoria (1857)

In their first Official Website for the movie Anna and the King (which was still online at the end of 2000), Fox decided to use the words "true story" which upset the Thai people.

"Set in 19th century Thailand, ANNA AND THE KING is the true story of British governess Anna Leonowens, who is employed by the King (Chow Yun-Fat) to look after his many children. Soon after she arrives in this exotic country, Anna finds herself engaged in a battle of wits with the strong-willed ruler." - Fox website

The film suggests that there was a romance between Anna and the King and gives credit to Anna for social and economic reforms which were either carried out before she arrived or were initiated by other people. In the movie, King Mongkut also says that Anna is the equal of kings. But, there is little truth in the movie. Anna was not employed as a governess, nor did she figure highly in the Royal Court. King Mongkut kept extensive diaries and in the years that Anna was there, he only mentioned her once and then only briefly.

Students at Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan, Thailand, sent a letter of complaint to Fox executives about the wording on their web site and asked them to change it to "fictionalised story". In their reply, Fox agreed to change it to "based on historical information and Leonowens' published works".

Anna Leonowens first wrote "The English Governess at the Court of Siam" in 1870, three years after she had left Thailand. She followed this up in 1872 with a second book, "The Romance of the Harem". Long after these two books had gone out of print, Margot Landon stumbled across them while living in Thailand. She decided to combine the biographical parts of the two books forming a new book called "Anna and the King of Siam" eventually published in 1943. It was this book that inspired the 1946 movie starring Rex Harrison and the later musical.

BOOKS

• The Story of Anna and the King (glossy pictures)
• Anna and the King (movie tie-in)
• Anna and the King (CD soundtrack)
• The English Governess at the Court of Siam by Anna Leonowens (1999)
• Romance of the Harem by Anna Leonowens (1991)
• Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon (1999)
• Anna Leonowens: A Life Beyond the King and I by Leslie Smith Dow (1992)
• Louis and the King of Siam by W.S. Bristowe (1976)
• Adventurous Women in South East Asia by John Gullick (1995)
• Travelers's Tales - Thailand by James O'Reilly and Larry Habegger (1993)
• Jodie: A Biography
• Chow Yun-Fat Collection

The books are available in Thailand though the videos are obviously banned. If you are Thai and living in Thailand, you will need to make your own judgement as to whether to follow these links to buy the videos online at amazon.com

Videos

• Anna and the King of Siam (1946), directed by John Cromwell and starring Irene Dunne as Anna and Rex Harrison as the King.
• The King and I (1956), a musical directed by Walter Lang and starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.
• King and I (1999), cartoon for children
• Anna and the King (1999),
• Anna and the King:The Real Story of Anna Leonowens (1999),

Fox had originally hoped for the movie to be made in Thailand. The script went through five re-writes in order to correct a long list of objections. But to no avail. The movie was eventually made on location in Malaysia. If you are interested in the filming locations for "Anna and the King", then you might like to visit the following web site that was put together by the Penang Heritage Trust: "The Filming of Anna and the King". They have also produced a fascinating book on the making of the movie which you can order on-line from their web site. This book is highly recommended. There are 144 full colour pictures on 32 pages, and it is full with historical background information on Penang filming sites. All photos were taken by local press and private photographers, and there are exclusive beautiful pictures of Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat and Bai Ling.