Tan Kim Ching who happened to be Anna Leonowens, a young widow, looking for work to support herself and her two children. The story of the schoolteacher and the King of Siam has been made popular through the films "The King And I" (Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr) and "Anna and the King" (Chow, Yun Fatt and Jodie Foster). When the King and Queen of Siam landed in Singapore in 1890 they stayed at Tan Kim Ching's house, "Siam house", in North Bridge Road. It was reported that The King, who was expected to arrive in Singapore at Tanjong Pagar Wharf on board
Anna Leonowens in Poona, over the objections of her stepfather and mother, she married her childhood sweetheart, Thomas Leon (or Lane/Lean) Owens; he later merged his second and last names as Leonowens. Her husband was a civilian clerk (rather than the army officer suggested by her memoir). In 1852 the young couple, accompanied by Anna's uncle, W. V. Glasscott, sailed to Australia via Singapore, where they boarded the barque "Alibi". The journey from Singapore was long and while on board Anna gave birth to a son, also named Thomas. On 8 March 1853, nearing the Western Australian coast, the "Alibi" was almost