Ananda Mahidol (Thai: พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; RTGS: Ananthamahidon; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin (Thai: พระอัฐมรามาธิบดินทร), was the eighth monarch of Siam (1935-1939) and Thailand (1939-1946) from the Chakri dynasty as Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal pages were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.