Standard:
In the hoist the arms;
in the fly Azure
charged with the Crest
between two
representations of the
Badge all separated by
two bends Or each
bearing the Motto in
letters Sable the
whole fringed Or and
Gules and the sleeve
Azure.
Certification:
Don Alfonso de
Ceballos-Escalera y
Gila, Marqués de la
Floresta, Crónista de
Armas de Castilla y
León, certified 13 May
2005 (arms,
supporters,
compartment, previous
badges and previous
standard).
Registration:
South African Bureau
of Heraldry on 8
February 2002.
Certificates nos. 3299
(arms), 3300 (previous
badge), 3301 (previous
standard) dated 29
November 2002.
Further Private
Registration
(Select):
Heraldische
Gemeinschaft
Westfalen, registered
10 December 2004, no.
DEV0204 (arms,
supporters and
compartment). Centre
for Research of
Orthodox Monarchism –
Board for Heraldic and
Genealogical Studies,
registered 7 June 2007
(arms, badge and
standard with motto “I
Shine On”).
Recognition:
Noble name (including
pedigree), titles and
armorial bearings
(arms, coronet, crest,
supporters, motto,
badge, and standard)
entered retroactively
as number 187 (2009)
into the Golden Book
of Members of the
Prester John Institute
Royal and Imperial
Council of Nobility.
The
Armiger has two
other entries in the
register:
South
Africa: The
International Register
of Arms, 12th March
2006. Registration
Number No.00037.
England:
The
International Register
of Arms, 28th December
2017. Registration
Number No.0442
(Vol.3).
Pedigree:
According to
historical records and
the current DNA
evidence, the armiger
traces his agnatic
ancestry albeit with
short breaks back to
Cao Xia, a Dongyi
(literally “Eastern
Barbarian,” and most
likely a
proto-Tai-Kadai or
proto-Viet) chieftain
turned Han Chinese
knight and first
feudal lord over the
Zhu (later called the
Zou) state. He
flourished in southern
Shandong province,
China around 1046 BCE
during the reign of
King Wu of the Zhou
Dynasty.
The
armiger descends
agnatically from
nineteen generations
of feudal lords
(starting as viscounts
and later becoming
dukes), six imperial
marquises, one
imperial duke, almost
a dozen ministers of
state, over a dozen
field marshals and
generals, two
Confucian saints, and
numerous lower-ranking
officials, military
officers and scholars.
The armiger is also
collaterally related
to the sixteen
emperors and seven
pretenders of the Ming
Dynasty (r. 1368 –
1644 CE), as well as
the Dukes of Yansheng
(descendants of
Confucius), the Dukes
of Fusheng
(descendants of Yan
Hui, Confucius’
favorite disciple),
and the Dukes of Hui
(descendants of Zhu
Xi, the Neo-Confucian
philosopher).
The
armiger’s immediate
paternal ancestors
adopted the
Ploysongsang surname,
which means “radiant
jewel,” to better
assimilate into Thai
culture having
immigrated to Thailand
in the early 20th
century. The armiger’s
line subsequently
immigrated to the
United States in the
late 1960s.
A study
of the armiger’s known
maternal ancestors
revealed a few Siamese
noble officials, and
recent autosomal DNA
testing confirmed
Southeast Asian, East
Asian and South Asian
ancestry.
Education:
B.S. (University of
Wisconsin-Madison,
1993); M.R.P. (Cornell
University, 1995);
J.D. (Washington
University in St.
Louis, 1998); E.M.B.A.
with Honours
(Sasin-Kellogg, 2010).
Qualifications:
Admitted as an
attorney and counselor
at law in New York
State, as well as
before the U.S. Court
of International
Trade, U.S. Court of
Federal Claims, U.S.
Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit,
and the U.S. Supreme
Court among others.
Honours:
Since his first entry
the armiger has
received several
chivalric honours. A
select list is as
follows:
-
Raja
Muda Ploysongsang
(literally “Young
Prince Radiant
Jewel”) –
Hereditary title
awarded by H.R.H.
the Raja of Kupang
in Indonesia. The
title Raja Muda is
not the title for
the Crown Prince
of Kupang, which
is Mahkota Putera
Kupang (literally
“Crowned Royal Son
of Kupang”). In
Kupang, Raja Muda
is a high
aristocratic title
comparable to a
serene prince or a
marquis in Europe.
-
Omujwaara
Kondo (Hereditary
Crown Knight, 2nd
Class), Royal
Order of the
Omujwaara Kondo.
-
Omukungu
(Hereditary
Knight, 1st
Class), Royal
Order of the
Engabu.
-
Hereditary
Companion (1st
Class), Order of
the Companion of
Honour of the
Royal House of
Kupang.
-
Officer
(4th Class), Most
Venerable Order of
the Hospital of
St. John of
Jerusalem.
-
Knight
Commander (4th
Class), Order of
the Eagle of
Georgia and the
Seamless Tunic of
Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
-
Knight
(5th Class), Order
of the Star of
Ethiopia.
Clubs:
Royal Bangkok Sports
Club (RBSC) and RBSC
Polo Club.
Societies:
American Mensa,
Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators (U.K.
& Thailand), Siam
Society Under Royal
Patronage, Foreign
Correspondents Club
Thailand, Royal
Asiatic Society
(U.K.), and Thai Red
Cross Society
(Honorary Member).
The
painting
(emblazonment) of the
coat of arms shows
pendent the Royal
Order of the Omujwaara
Kondo on the dexter
side nearest the bull
and the Order of the
Companion of Honour of
the Royal House of
Kupang on the sinister
side nearest the
tiger. This
emblazonment is by
Andrew Stewart
Jamieson. The artwork
for the badge and
standard are by Gordon
Macpherson. The badge
consisting of a vajra
(regarded as a
“diamond” or “jewel”
in many Asian
cultures) and a crown
rayonné (also known as
a “crown radiant”) is
the armiger’s symbol
for the Ploysongsang
family.
