Andreas was born in Denmark, February 24th,1852.
Although his parents were far from wealthy, Andreas’ ancestors include members of many of Denmark’s most illustrious families and he was a direct descendant of King Gorm of Denmark.[1]
Andreas’ father was vicar of the small town of Loit in southern Jutland. His two grand fathers were Governors, one of Danish Guinea and another of Iceland[2].
During his school years, the boy didn’t excel (except in religion and swimming). He was small of stature, well-built and known for his good manners and calm disposition. He was known for keeping his own council.
At the age of 15 years, Andreas had had enough of school and decided that the one way to escape a dreary looking future would be to run off to sea as his big brother had done two years earlier. With this intention, he sought an interview with one of Denmark’s large ship owners who granted him a position on one of his ships, the three masted schooners Odense bound for the far east – Bombay, Bangkok, China, Japan, and Australia.
Then one day in 1869 when his ship was on the way up the River of Kings in Bangkok, the 17 years old Danish boy set eyes a beautiful white-painted 220 m long ship with polished fixtures that gleamed like gold in the sun. Elegant sailors in white uniforms with blue collars milled about on the ship.
Andreas was entranced and decided then and there that a life is Siam was his future. He would serve the King of Siam.
[1] King Gorm was a vary early Danish Viking king who reigned in the nine hundreds. Source for Richelieu’s ancestry: Admiral Richelieus Anetavle;. Title No: 135353. Creator: Hauch-Fausbøll, Theodor, b. 1879. Language: Danish. dan. da. Subject: Richelieu family.
[2] All Andreas’ four grandparents had died. Both his mum and his dad were only children, so the young widow was left with little family support.
Both Andreas’ grandfathers had been governors of Danish territories. His Farfar, Johan Christopher de Richlieu had been Governor of Danish Guinea. His Morfar, Regner Christopher Ulstrup had been Landfoged (Governor) of Iceland.
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