Prince Birabongse Bhanutej, Prince of Siam, first came to Europe in 1927 to complete his education at Eton and Cambridge University. At Brooklands in 1935 “Bira,” as he was known, had his first experience in motor racing driving a Riley Imp with White Mouse Racing, his cousin’s Prince Chula Chakrabongse’s team. It was in this car that Bira established the national motor racing colors of Siam: pale blue with yellow. Later that year Prince Chula presented Bira with one of the new ERA voiturette racing cars, R2B, for his 21st birthday. Bira nicknamed the car “Romulus” after the founder of Rome and son of Mars, the God of War in Roman mythology. In this painting entitled “Romulus” by Graham Bosworth, Bira is seen driving R2B at Crystal Palace in July 1939.
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