Nanmadaw Me Nu

Nanmadaw Me Nu
Nanmadaw Me Nu
နန်းမတော် မယ်နု
Consort of Bagyidaw
Reign 5 June 1819 – 15 April 1837 (&1000000000000001700000017 years, &10000000000000314000000314 days)
Spouse Bagyidaw
Issue
Prince of Palaing
Princess Supayagale
Full name
Sri Pawara Tilaka Suriya Maha Rajendra Ratna Devi[1]
House Konbaung
Father Prince Thiha Kyawswa of Shwedaung
Born 18 June 1783(1783-06-18)
Died 12 May 1840(1840-05-12) (aged 56)
Amarapura
Religion Theravada Buddhism

Nanmadaw Me Nu (Burmese: နန်းမတော် မယ်နု, pronounced [náɴmədɔ̀ mɛ̀ nṵ]; 18 June 1783 – 12 May 1840) was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837. Married to Bagyidaw (then, Prince of Sagaing) in 1801, Me Nu became queen when Bagyidaw ascended the throne on 5 June 1819, with the title Namadaw Mibaya Khaunggyi (literally, Queen of the Main Palace).[1]

Me Nu was part of the war party along with Gen. Maha Bandula and her brother Maung O, the Lord of Salin, in Bagyidaw's court that advocated war with the British.[2] After the disastrous First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) that left the country crippled, Bagyidaw became increasingly reclusive. Me Nu and her brother became de facto rulers of the country, and they much feared for their tyrannical rule. In February 1837, Crown Prince Tharrawaddy, brother of Bagyidaw, raised a rebellion against Bagyidaw, successfully forcing Bagyidaw to abdicate in April. Tharrawaddy put his brother under house arrest but executed Me Nu and her brother.[1]

Queen Me Nu had a son and a daughter with Bagyidaw. The son, Prince of Palaing, died young at 10 in April 1804. The daughter Princess Supayagale was a queen (Queen Hsinbyumashin) of King Mindon and mother of Burma's last queen Supayalat.

The Queen's Brick Monastery

References

  1. ^ a b c Christopher Buyers. "The Konbaung Dynasty Genealogy". royalark.net. http://www.royalark.net/Burma/konbau11.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  2. ^ Thant Myint-U (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps--Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6, 0-374-16342-1.