In 1881  Queen Sunandakumariratana drowned when her boat sank in the Chao Phraya River while she was on her way to Bang Pa-In Palace.  King Chulalongkorn, overcome with grief, set up a marble obelisk as a cenotaph to her memory.  The King composed the dedication himself in Thai and English.

MEMORIAL TO PRINCESS SAOVABHARK NARIRATANA AND THREE ROYAL CHILDREN.
 
 
 
 

In the year 1887 the Princess Saovabhark Nariratana, a consort of King Chulalongkorn, and three of his children died, so the king had a marble cenotaph bearing their portraits built for them near the earlier Memorial to Queen Sunandakumariratana.