Family Leonowens was the youngest son of
Anna Leonowens (
née Edwards) and Thomas Leon Owens. His mother, who would later become famous as the English governess to the royal Siamese children from portrayals in the 1944 fictionalised biographical novel
Anna and the King of Siam and its various adaptations including the 1951 musical
The King and I, was actually born and grew up in India, probably of
Anglo-Indian ancestry. His father was an Irish-born, India-raised clerk; they married in 1849. The couple left India for Singapore, then part of the
Straits Settlements, in 1852.
Before arriving in Siam Louis Thomas Gunnis Leonowens was born on 25 October 1856 in
Lynton, Western Australia, to Anna and Thomas Leonowens. In Lynton, his father was working for the
Commissariat as a clerk. His family then moved to
Penang in 1857 where his father was a hotel manager. The family's finances would worsen when the
Agra bank collapsed due to the
Indian mutiny. Thomas would die in 1859 from a
stroke after he and other officers returned from shooting tigers; Louis was around 3 years old at the time. Together with his mother and older sister, Avis, they moved to
Singapore. In Singapore, his mother would tell the British expatriate community there that she was a genteel Welsh woman, the widow of a British army officer who had unfortunately lost her fortune. Anna also established a school for the children of British army officers until she was invited by King
Mongkut of Siam to come teach English to his wives and children. Before Anna travelled to Bangkok, she sent Louis' older sister to be educated in
Fulham, England.
Childhood in Siam In August 1862, Louis arrived with his mother on board the
Chao Phaya in
Bangkok at age 7 where he would reside in the
Royal Palace for the next 6 years. Louis would often write letters to his sister Avis who he missed dearly, often crying when he thought about her. When Anna arranged a joint birthday for Avis and Louis (who shared the same birthday: October 25) she wrote to Anna that "he got very merry and drank your health with all his smiles on his face". In July 1863 at age 8, he accompanied Mongkut on his yacht the
Royal Sovereign upstream the
Chao Phraya river to
Ayutthaya. Similarly in 1865 at age 10, he went with Mongkut to
Phra Pathommachedi,
Nakhon Pathom. During his time with the King, Louis was often gifted items and affection. He would write to his sister about Mongkut saying, "I like the King. He gave me some
gold leaf for you which I send", "I have got a gun and a sword, and a beautiful boat the King gave Mama and a paddle too with which I row Mama to the Palace". At a dinner with Mongkut, his suite and Louis, the U.S. consul James Madison Hood would describe Mongkut as "having regarded [Louis] as an adopted son". He first took a ship to Ireland where he said goodbye to the Wilkinsons before travelling to
Queensland, Australia. During this time, Anne grew anxious about the whereabouts of her son until she heard that he arrived in
Rockhampton in June 1875. Louis set off with two friends to the
Palmer gold fields near
Cooktown, which was undergoing a
gold rush. He did not search for gold but instead became a police officer around the mines for 4 years due to his strong body. In 1881, Louis moved to Kanni Waikerie along the
Murray river northeast of
Adelaide, where he worked as a stockhand on Leonard Percival's station. Louis then wished to return to his mother in the U.S. and asked her for money to do so, which she denied stating that Louis, who was 25, needed to save up his own money. Instead, he travelled to
Bangkok. == Career ==