Her maternal grandfather was the sawbwa (chief) of the Shan state of Mobye (present-day northern Kayah State), which was a tributary of the Shan state of Thibaw (Hsipaw).
For the services of Kokang during World War II, it was recognised as separate from Shan State in August 1947 by the British, and the ruler took the title Saopha.
Mong Mao or Mao kingdom (Mong is the etymological equivalent of Thai Mueang, meaning nation) was an ethnically Dai state that controlled several smaller Tai states or chieftainships along the frontier of what is now Myanmar and China in the Dehong region of Yunnan with a capital near the modern-day border town of Ruili.
With the British annexation and the fall of court of Mandalay, the Burmese court culture and traditions were still carried on for a while at the court of Saophas of Hsipaw, the Shan state closest to Mandalay culturally and geographically.
Shan States is an historic name for minor kingdoms (analogous to princely states of the British raj) ruled by Saopha (analogous to Thai royal title Chao Fa Prince or Princess) in large areas of today's Burma (Myanmar), China's Yunnan Province, Laos and Northern Thailand from the late 13th century until mid-20th century.