June Rose Bellamy

June Rose Bellamy, also Yadana Nat-Mei (Burmese: ရတနာနတ်မယ်; lit. Goddess of the Nine Jewels, born 1 June 1932) is the fourth wife of Burmese dictator Ne Win and former First Lady of Myanmar.[1] She is a Burmese royal princess of Australian descent and the great-granddaughter of Prince Kanaung.

June Rose Bellamy
ရတနာနတ်မယ်
Former First Lady of Myanmar
In role 24 December 1976 – May 1977
President	Ne Win
Preceded by	Ni Ni Myint
Succeeded by	Ni Ni Myint (remarriage)
Personal details
Born	Yadana Nat-Mei (1932-06-01) 1 June 1932 Rangoon, British Burma
Spouse(s)	Mario Postiglione ( div. 1954) Ne Win ( m. 1976⁠–⁠1977)
Children	Michael Bellamy Postiglione Maurice Postiglione
Parents	Herbert Bellamy (orchid collector) Hteiktin Ma Lat
Known for	great-granddaughter of Prince Kanaung Mintha, ex-wife of Ne Win

Biography

Hteiktin Ma Gyi, Yadana Nat-Mei and her mother Hteiktin Ma Lat

young Yadana Nat Mei and her mother Princess Hteiktin Ma Lat

June Rose was born on 1 June 1932 in Rangoon, British Burma. She was the great-granddaughter of Prince Kanaung Mintha and granddaughter of Prince Limbin. She was the only daughter of Princess Hteiktin Ma Lat of Konbaung, and Herbert Bellamy, an Australian orchid collector long settled in Burma. She educated at St Joseph’s Convent School, Kalimpong, India, also educated in Rangoon, Burma and New York, USA.

June Rose was offered for a female lead role in the war film The Purple Plain, as the young Burmese nurse who gives a suicidal pilot (played by Gregory Peck) an interest in life, but says she pulled out during the shooting in Ceylon. "It was so Hollywood, it was ridiculous; it was an insult to anything that had to do with Burma," she said.[2]

First marriage

June Rose was first married Mario Postiglione, a physician and Senior Malaria advisor of WHO in Rangoon, Damascus, Geneva and Manila. The couple divorced in 1954, after having two sons, Michael Bellamy Postiglione and Maurice Postiglione.

Second marriage

Local newspaper coverage of the wedding and marriage of then-dictator Ne Win and June Rose Bellamy, published on December 25, 1976

In 1963 June Rose met Ne Win, Burma's new military ruler, in Europe, where she was living. Ne Win suggested she come back to Burma, but she was unwilling to leave Italy. On a later visit he proposed. They married in 1976, but the marriage lasted only five months.[3] June Rose now teaches International and Italian cooking in Florence, as well as carrying on charitable work, through Rangoon-based doctors, putting young Burmese students through medical school.[4]

References

1. Bayin, Anne (3 September 2019). "Lunch with a Myanmar Princess". The Irrawaddy.
2. Hamish McDonald (4 January 2013). "Between two worlds". Griffith Review. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013.
3. Hamish McDonald, "Between two worlds", Griffith REVIEW Edition 27: Food Chain
4. Hamish McDonald, "Between two worlds", Griffith REVIEW Edition 27: Food Chain

External links

• Studio June Bellamy, Oriental and Italian cuisine school

Honorary titles
Preceded by Ni Ni Myint	First Lady of Myanmar 1976–1977	Succeeded by Ni Ni Myint