A few months later in 1934, King Prajadhipok, whose relations with the new government had been deteriorating for some time, went abroad to receive medical treatment. While abroad, he still tried to retain some influence on the government's policies, but finally gave up when it became clear that the government would not relinquish its increasingly dogmatic nature. In March 1935, while still in Europe, he announced his abdication. The government then chose Prince Ananda Mahidol, who was then in school in Switzerland, to be the next king. For the first time in history, Siam was without a resident reigning monarch and was to remain so for the next fifteen years.