Prince Norodom Yuvaneath (b. October 17, 1943 in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...

) is a son of the former king of Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk

Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...

 and Princess Sisowath Pongsanmoni. He is the half-brother of the current king, Norodom Sihamoni

Norodom Sihamoni

Norodom Sihamoni is the current reigning King of Cambodia. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihanouk and Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. Previously Cambodia's ambassador to UNESCO, he was named by a nine-member throne council to become the next king after his father Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in 2004...

.

Personal life

In 1957, under the direction of socialist-leaning Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the Ankar Khamarak Kayarith was transformed into the "Royal Socialist Khmer Youth", with Sihanouk himself serving as president of the state ruled organization, now controlled by the Royal government. The 2,000 members and the leaders of Cambodian Scouting

Scouting in Cambodia

The National Association of Cambodian Scouts is the national Scouting organization in Cambodia. It was founded in September 2005 through the merger of the Scout Organization of Cambodia and the Cambodian Scouts ​ and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement on 1 July,...

 were permitted by the government to carry on activities. Scouts and Scout leaders attended the World Jamboree in 1959 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, among them Prince Norodom Yuvaneath. Soon after, Prince Norodom Sihanouk announced the dissolution of the Cambodian Boy Scout Association, whose members were subsequently integrated into the JSRK, a government sponsored national socialist youth movement.

Norodom Yuvaneath married Yin Kim in June 1962. In 1970 after the coup by General Lon Nol

Lon Nol

Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...

, the Norodom family fled to Beijing where they lived until 1980 when Yuvaneath moved his family to Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Yuvaneath has three children:

• HRH Prince Norodom Veakchearavouth
• HRH Princess Norodom Pekina, who still lives in Connecticut and works for Timex
  Timex Group
  Timex Group B.V., or Timex Group, is a Dutch holding company headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, and the corporate parent of several watchmaking companies around the globe including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd...
  
  
• HRH Princess Norodom Yuveakdevi

He was educated at the prestigious Lycée Sisowath. In addition to his native Khmer

Khmer language

Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...

, the prince also speaks French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

Government

In 1993, after the Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese left Cambodia, King Norodom Sihanouk returned to Cambodia and, on December 31 of that year, elevated Prince Yuvaneath to the rank of Sdech Krom Luon, appointing him Privy Counsellor to His Majesty the King, a rank equal to that of Deputy Prime Minister. After King Sihanouk abdicated in favor of the crown prince, the new king appointed Yuvaneath the Supreme Royal Advisor. In this capacity, Yuvaneath proclaimed his opposition to the tribunal of former Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...

leaders, believing that the 1975-1979 turmoil resulting in the massacre of over 2 million Cambodians was a result of foreign intervention by the Vietnamese and Thai governments. Yuvaneath also stated his belief that a trial would be contrary to the interests of national reconciliation. Despite Yuvaneath's opposition to the tribunal, neither the king nor Sihanouk has made a public statement about trials. Yuvaneath is also a Commander of the Royal Order of Monisaraphon.

External links

• Norodom Family Home Page Wedding pictures of H.H. Prince Veakchearavouth's marriage ceremony, 2001