June Rose Bellamy
June Rose Bellamy | |
|---|---|
| ရတနာနတ်မယ် | |
 | |
| Born | 1931 (age 92–93) |
| Other names | June Baby |
| Known for | great-granddaughter of Prince Kanaung Mintha, ex-wife of Ne Win |
June Rose Bellamy, also Yadana Nat-Mei (Burmese: ရတနာနတ်မယ်; lit. Goddess of the Nine Jewels), born 1932, was the fourth wife of Burmese dictator Ne Win.
June Rose was the great-granddaughter of a Burmese prince (Prince Kanaung Mintha, also known as Prince Limbin, son of King Tharrawaddy); her mother was the daughter of Princess Hteiktin Ma Lat (ထိပ်တင်မလတ်), of the deposed Konbaung dynasty, and her father was Herbert Bellamy, an Australian orchid collector long settled in Burma. 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 1978, but the marriage lasted only five months.[1] June Rose now teaches Burmese and Italian cooking in Florence, as well as carrying on charitable work, through Rangoon-based doctors, putting young Burmese students through medical school.[2]