Khun Poom Jensen''

Khun Khun may refer to: * Khun (, long vowel, middle tone), the colloquial Thai name for the Golden Shower Tree * Khun (courtesy title) (, short vowel, middle tone), a common Thai honorific * Khun (noble title) (, short vowel, rising tone), a former ...

'' is a Thai courtesy title which is used to show respect but does not indicate a royal status. (; ; ; 16 August 1983 – 26 December 2004), born Bhumi Jensen (also spelled Poomi Jensen, ; ; ), was a grandson of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

of Thailand, after whom he was named. He was also a nephew of

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn (born 28 July 1952) is King of Thailand. He is the tenth Thai monarch of the Chakri dynasty since ascending the throne in 2016 with the regnal name Rama X. The only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirik ...

, the current King of Thailand. He was the only son of the King's eldest daughter, Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, and her American (former) husband Peter Ladd Jensen.

Early life and education

Poom, as he was commonly known, had

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

and his status helped heighten awareness of the condition in Thailand. He attended Kasetsart University Laboratory School in Bangkok. An American teacher, Julie Claeys, from Greeley Colorado helped to coordinate his program and trained Thai teachers to support him. He spent his childhood in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

, where he graduated from

Torrey Pines High School Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School Di ...

. Poom moved with his mother to Thailand in July 2001, after his graduation. After return to Thailand he studied in Sports Science at Faculty of Education,

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University (; ; commonly Kaset or KU) is a public university, public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. It was Thailand's first agriculture, agricultural university and Thailand's third ...

Death and legacy

Jensen drowned after being struck by the

Indian Ocean tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the scient ...

on 26 December 2004, while he and his family were on holiday at the La Flora Resort hotel in

Khao Lak Khao Lak (, ) is a small village in Phang Nga province, located South of the main mountain. Tour operators like to use the popular name as location for a series of other villages, now tourist-oriented, mainly in the Takua Pa District of Phang ...

. His body was discovered on the beach the following day. His uncle, then-

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Maha Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn (born 28 July 1952) is King of Thailand. He is the tenth Thai monarch of the Chakri dynasty since ascending the throne in 2016 with the regnal name Rama X. The only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirik ...

, identified his body and flew the rest of the family to Bangkok. On 30 April 2005, he received a royal funeral attended by his grandfather the King and virtually every member of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. His mother, Princess Ubolratana, established the Khun Poom Foundation in his memory, to aid children with autism and other learning disabilities. She also founded "To Be Number One Project" to campaign against drug usage among teenagers.

Honors

* King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal (First Class).

Police rank

* Police Sub Lieutenant

Volunteer Defense Corps of Thailand rank

* Volunteer Defense Corps Major

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Poom 1983 births 2004 deaths American people of Thai descent American people of Danish descent Deaths by drowning

Poom Jensen Khun Poom Jensen'' Khun'' is a Thai courtesy title which is used to show respect but does not indicate a royal status. (; ; ; 16 August 1983 – 26 December 2004), born Bhumi Jensen (also spelled Poomi Jensen, ; ; ), was a grandson of King Bhumi ...

Natural disaster deaths in Thailand People from San Diego Autistic people Royalty and nobility with disabilities

Victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

American people with disabilities