King Rama II was so pleased with Phu's poetry that he awarded him the title of "Khun". During the reign of King Rama III, however, Phu made the grave mistake of publicly correcting one of the king's poems, and was stripped of his title as punishment. After this disgrace, he initially entered the Buddhist priesthood, but later became a merchant.
King Rama IV's daughter read his unfinished work Phra Aphai Mani, and asked the poet to complete it. King Rama IV appointed Phu as Director of Royal Scribes, and awarded him the title of "Phra". He spent the rest of his life at peace until he died in 1855.