At the requiem for Mong Diep, the concubine of Vietnam’s last king Bao Dai, held in the ancient capital city of Hue on July 1, many people were attracted to an old lady, who kneeled in front of the altar for over one hour, with a respectful face.

Nguyen Dac Xuan, a senior researcher of Hue culture and history, said that the old lady is Mrs. Le Thi Dinh, maternal grandchild of Duke Ung Quyen (the younger brother of Kings Kien Phuc, Ham Nghi and Dong Khanh of the Nguyen Dynasty). Dinh is also the one who is in charge of worshiping five Nguyen kings at the Kien Thai Vuong palace. Whenever a member in the royal family passes away, Dinh is responsible to organize requiems for them, up to the tradition of the royal family.

In Hue city, Kien Thai Vuong is the only palace where has the altar of the five kings of the Nguyen dynasty. Dinh and her son now live in the palace, at No. 179 Phan Dinh Phung Road, to take care of the altar of the kings of the last feudal dynasty in Vietnam.

At the age of 91, Dinh still remembers the days she served King Dong Khanh’s wife and King Khai Dinh’s wife and royal funerals that she attended.

As a member of the royal family, Dinh was summoned to the royal citadel to serve King Dong Khanh’s wife when she was a fifth grader. The Queen liked Dinh very much and she often asked Dinh to make cake or do make-up for her eyes. Dinh was paid 6 dong a month, which was enough to purchase 100 cans of rice.

At the age of 15, Dinh witnessed the first royal funeral in her life – the funeral of the Queen. “The funeral took place for a month. Ceremony was conducted on a daily basis by officials from the Ministry of Rites,” she recalled.
After the Queen passed away, Dinh served another Queen, the wife of King Khai Dinh. Sometimes Dinh was told to write letters to the prince, who then became King Bao Dai, whenever he traveled far from home. The letters were always checked by the Queen before sending.

After the August Revolution, which put an end to the feudal period in Vietnam, Dinh followed the Queen to An Dinh palace and then to the house at No. 147 Phan Dinh Phung road to take care for the Queen in her last days.

“Because of the change of times, when the Queen passed away, her family members were far away so they could not attend her funeral,” Dinh said.

After that, the old lady and her eldest son moved to Kien Thai Vuong palace to worship the four kings of Dong Khanh, Kien Phuc, Ham Nghi and Khai Dinh and then King Bao Dai since 1997.

“When the Queen passed away, she did not tell me to take care of the altars of Kings but as a royal family’s member, that is my duty. Moreover, all royal family members live overseas so I have to assume this responsibility,” Dinh explained about her quiet mission for the last 30 years.

She said that under the reign of King Khai Dinh, the eldest son of King Dong Khanh, the death anniversaries of Kings were organized very solemnly at four temples and they were prepared for several months. Each temple had 13 altars. Each altar had a roast suckling pig and a feast with 20 cuisines.

At Kien Thai Vuong palace, King Khai Dinh and mandarins made rituals at the death anniversary of the three kings of Dong Khanh, Kien Phuc and Ham Nghi. The offerings were the same with those at the three temples of Nguyen Kings.

Dinh always burn incenses for Nguyen Kings every morning and afternoon. She cannot clean up the altars now but this task is done by her son. Dinh has two sons, the second settles in France.

She said of the five kings she worships, she loves King Bao Dai most. This king had to live alone overseas in his last days. Apart from the five kings, Dinh also takes care of the altars for Bao Dai’s son – Prince Bao Long and Bao Dai’s concubine Mong Diep, who passed away in Paris in late June.

Dinh said she organizes death anniversaries for Kings by funding from King Bao Dai’s descendants in France and her four grandchildren there.

Standing besides the altars of Kings, Dinh said: “I always tell my son that if one day I go away, he will replace me to take care of the kings’ altar”.