King Thibaw, also Thebaw or Theebaw, was the last king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and also the last Burmese monarch in the country's history. His reign ended when the armed forces of the Burmese Empire were defeated by the forces of the British Empire in the Third Anglo-Burmese War, on 29 November 1885, prior to its official annexation on 1 January 1886.
Thibaw, c. 1880
A photograph of King Thibaw and his wives, half-sisters Supayalat and Supayalay (November 1885)
King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat on the Lion Throne (Palin) at Mandalay Palace
King Thibaw's Royal Barge on the Mandalay Palace moat in 1885.
The Konbaung dynasty, also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma/Myanmar from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in Burmese history and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of the modern state of Burma. The reforms, however, proved insufficient to stem the advance of the British, who defeated the Burmese in all three Anglo-Burmese Wars over a six-decade span (1824–1885) and ended the millennium-old Burmese monarchy in 1885. Pretenders to the dynasty claim descent from Myat Phaya Lat, one of Thibaw's daughters.
The Lion Throne of Burma in the throne hall of the Amarapura Palace (painting by Colesworthey Grant, 1855)
The Shwedagon Pagoda during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26)
The last king, Thibaw Min (right), here with Queen Supayalat and her sister Junior Queen Supayalay, was forcibly deposed by the British following the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.
A royal scribe, 1855