Norodom Buppha Devi

Buppha Devi
Princess of Cambodia
Princess Buppha Devi performing a Khmer classical dance circa 1965.
House	House of Norodom
Father	King Norodom Sihanouk
Mother	Neak Moneang Phat Kanthol
Born	8 January 1943 (1943-01-08) (age 68) Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Princess Norodom Buppha Devi (IPA: [n̪ɔroːt̪ˈɗɑm ɓupˈpʰaː~ɓopʰaː t̪eːʋiː]) of Cambodia was born on January 8, 1943 in Phnom Penh. She is the daughter of Norodom Sihanouk and the late Neak Moneang Phat Kanthol. Princess Buppha Devi is the elder sister of Prince Norodom Ranariddh and a half-sibling of current King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni.

Her official title is Her Royal Highness Samdech Reach Botrei Preah Ream Norodom Buppha Devi.

Name

Princess Norodom Buppha Devi's first name is also romanised as 'Bopha Devi or 'Bophadevi.' Her name comes from Pali words puppha (បុប្ផា) meaning flower and devi (ទេវី) meaning goddess.

Biography

Styles of Norodom Buppha Devi
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness

Her Royal Highness Buppha Devi finished her high school education at Lycée Preah Norodom in Phnom Penh. As a young princess her grandmother, Queen Sisowath Kossamak, chose her to become a dancer early in her life. At the age of 15, she became the premiere dancer of the Royal Ballet. At the age of 18, she was granted the title of prima ballerina.^[1]

She then toured the world as the principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, and together with Queen Kossamak, brought for the first time, not only to the world, but also to the Cambodian people the art of the Cambodian Ballet. In the past, the ballet was performed only before royalty to commemorate their dynastic ancestors and to honour the gods.

Her Royal Highness married in 1959 at the age of fifteen, and has five children:

• HRH Princess Sisowath Moni Kossoma, born in 1960.
• HRH Princess Sisowath Kalyan Tevi, born in 1961.
• Keo Chinsita Forsinetti, born in 1965.
• HRH Prince Sisowath Chivannariddh, born in 1968.
• HRH Prince Sisowath Veakchiravuddh, born 1973.

Princess Buppha Devi formerly served as the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts in Cambodia.

References

1. ^ Milton Osborne, Sihanouk, Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness. Silkworm 1994

External links

• Biography of the Princess at Norodom Sihanouk's website
• Dance of the Gods: Interview with Princess Buppha Devi by Lucretia Stewart
• Video of HRH Norodom Buppa Devi dancing the Robam Tiyae Boung Soung This 1962 performance at the Royal Palace was filmed by the United States Information Service (USIS) with the permission of Queen Kossamak.

Persondata
Name	Devi, Norodom Buppha
Alternative names
Short description	Cambodian princess
Date of birth	January 8, 1943
Place of birth	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Date of death
Place of death