Nanmadaw Me Nu was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837. Married to Bagyidaw in 1801, Me Nu became queen when Bagyidaw ascended the throne on 5 June 1819 as the chief queen consort, with the title Namadaw Mibaya Khaunggyi. Me Nu was notorious in Myanmar history was killed under the death sentence due to the penalty imposed by the monarch.
Background
Me Nu was born Shin Min Nu on 18 June 1783 at Phalangon village, 5 miles northwest of present-day town of Khin-U. She had only one elder brother named Maung O. She was the great-grand daughter of the hero Bala Thaman who was posted to the Phalangon village fort during the reign of King Mahadhammaraza Dipadi of Nyaungyan dynasty to guard against the danger of Manipuris. Her father was Htaung Thinn Hmu Thiha Kyawswar U Hlote, the son of Thakhin Mun, who was the third daughter of Bala Thaman. Shin Min Nu was born of Thiha Kyawswar U Hlote and his wife Daw Nge.
One day during the reign of King Bodawpaya who established Amarapura Royal Palace, a falcon took the sarong of Me Nu who was taking a bath. The falcon dropped the sarong on the left wing of the southern royal palace. In consequences, sarong owner Me Nu arrived in the presence of the king. At that time, she was more than 11 years old. After royal officials conducted investigations, she grasped a chance of serving as a lady-in-waiting at the southern royal palace under the order of the king. Prince Sagaing became the Crown Prince on 6 April 1809. Four years and six months later, his consort Hsinbyume, gave birth to Prince Nyaungyan. Seven days later, she passed away. As Crown Prince Sagaing married with Me Nu in 1813, then she became the Crown Princess. She had got rights of enjoying four villages, 30 horses, 3,000 pei of land plot, five salt farm villages and taxes for four kinds of products as a royal regalia of the Crown Princess.
Became the Chief queen consort
Crown Prince Sagaing became the seventh king of Konbaung dynasty on 7 June 1819. Crown Princess Me Nu became the Queen of the Southern Palace Nanmadaw with the title of Thiri Pavara Mahayazeinda Yadana Dewi on 3 November 1819. Bagyidaw also conferred title Thadoe Minhla Kyawhtin and granted the appendages of Salin to Maung O, elder brother of Me Nu.
Rise to power and terminate
As Bagyidaw as a soft liner with flippancy, Mei Nu, too prioritized by the King became powerful in the Royal Palace. Me Nu was part of the war party along with Gen. Maha Bandula and her brother Prince of Salin Maung O, in Bagyidaw's court that advocated war with the British. After the disastrous First Anglo-Burmese War that left the country crippled, Bagyidaw became increasingly reclusive. Me Nu and her brother became de facto rulers of the country, and they were much feared for their tyrannical rule. Queen Me Nu had three children with Bagyidaw. The eldest daughter passed away in her childhood and the son, Prince of Palaing, died young at 10 due to pox disease in April 1804. The daughter Princess Supayagale was a queen of King Mindon and mother of Burma's last queen Supayalat. The female lineage of Nanmadaw Me Nu, Hsinphyumashin and Supayalat in the male-dominated Burmese monarchy is a very interesting one regarding the end of Independence and the monarchy. In February 1837, Crown Prince Tharrawaddy, brother of Bagyidaw, raised a rebellion against Bagyidaw, successfully forcing Bagyidaw to abdicate in April. Tharrawaddy put his brother under house arrest but executed Me Nu and her brother.
Established a brick monastery
Me Nu established the Me Nu Oak-kyaung was built in 1822 for the royal abbot Nyaunggan Sayardaw U Po. Then offered to the 2nd Nyaunggan Sayardaw U Bok. The monastery was damaged by the earthquake of 1838 but was repaired in 1873 by his daughter Hsinbyumashin. This monastery is one of the finest specimens of Myanmar architecture during the Konbaung Period. Its architecture is in simulation of wooden monasteries with multiple roofs and a prayer hall of seven-tiered superstructure.
