Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
མ་ཡུམ་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་དབང་མོ་རྡོ་རྗེ
Rani Mayeum Choying Wangmo Dorji
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Princess of Sikkim, daughter Chogyal Thutob Namgyal, the 9th consecrated ruler of Sikkim. (Bhutia 1994: 57) Mother of Queen Grandmother Ashi Kesang Choden of Bhutan. Wife of 2nd Prime Minister Sir Raja Sonam Tobgye Dorji.
In her early years she was given an monastic education.
She is best known for designing the flag of Bhutan.
5 April 1918, marries Sonam Tobgye Dorji of Bhutan. They had five children: his eldest son Jigme Palden (1919-1964) who became Prime Minister of Bhutan; the second eldest, a daughter Tashi (b.1923), who helped in the affairs of the Bhutan House; Kesang Choden (b.1930), who married the third King of Bhutan; Ugyen (1933-2006), a reincarnation of a high priest in Tibet; and Lhendup (1935-2007). The children were all born and brought up in Bhutan House and educated in the elite schools set up by the British within Darjeeling and Kalimpong. (Khandu-Om Dorji 2008:10)
Was deeply religious and a scholar with an interest in the history and culture of Bhutan. Was also knowledgeable about the history and cultures of Tibet and Sikkim. She was a founding member and took an active role in the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology (SRIT), Gangtok, Sikkim. From 1964-65 she was co-opted in the General Council of SRIT. (Bhutia 1994: 59)
In memory of her husband, Mayum was commissioned by Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (third king of Bhutan & Mayum's son-in-law) to write the Kanjur and Tenjur, comprising of over 300 volumes of sacred teachings and expositions of Bhuddha in gold lettering (Bhutia 1994: 57)
She funded the construction of many Lhakhangs (temples) and the renovations of monasteries. (Bhutia 1994: 57)
Places
Bhutan
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Internal structures/genealogy
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Created: 10 August 2026, C. Kemnitz
Language(s)
Dzongkha
English
Script(s)
Latin
Tibetan
Sources
Obituary: Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji by Lama T.D. Bhutia (Director of SRIT), 1994. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/aaba5d74-34cc-4ff7-9252-f123e72f70a5/download
A Brief History of Bhutan House in Kalimpong by Khandu-Om Dorji. Journal of Bhutan Studies, vol. 19, Winter 2008, p. 9-33.
Aris Michael. 1994. The Raven Crown: The Origins of Buddhist Monarchy in Bhutan. London: Serindia Publications.
Photograph: Image of Raja Sonam Tobgye (left) and Rani Choni Wangmo Dorji (right) taken on 17 September 1934. Photographer Margaret Williamson. From the Williamson Collection, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge. (N.130656.WIL | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).https://collections.maa.cam.ac.uk/photographs/423924/