Origin The current concept of Thai kingship evolved through 800 years of absolute rule. The first king of a unified
Thailand was the founder of the
Sukhothai Kingdom, King
Si Inthrathit, in 1238.
Chakri kings of Siam, founded the Chakri dynasty in 1782. In 1782,
Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) ascended the throne and moved the capital from the
Thonburi side to the (Krung Thep)
Bangkok side of the
Chao Phraya River. There he established the
House of Chakri, the current ruling dynasty of Thailand. (This first reign was later designated as that of Rama I in the list of
Rama Kings of Thailand.) He also established the office of
Supreme Patriarch as the head of the
Sangha, the order of
Buddhist monks. During the
Rattanakosin period the Chakri kings tried to continue the concepts of Ayutthayan kingship once again emphasizing the connection between the sovereign and his subjects. On the other hand, they continued to not relinquish any authority of the throne. Kings
Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II) and
Nangklao (Rama III) created a semblance of a modern administration by creating a supreme council and appointing chief officers to help with the running of the government.
Prajadhipok (Rama VII) succeeded his brother in 1925. The
Eton and
Sandhurst educated monarch created a council similar to a
cabinet, where the most important government officials could meet to decide state affairs. This advisory and legislative council, styled the
Supreme Council of State of Siam (Thai: อภิรัฐมนตรีสภา) was founded on 28 November 1925 and existed until 1932.
Constitutional monarchy signing the
Constitution of Siam, 10 December 1932. In June 1932, a group of foreign-educated students and military men called "
the promoters" carried out a bloodless
revolution, seized power and demanded that King Prajadhipok grant the people of Siam a constitution. The king agreed and in December 1932 the people were granted
a constitution, ending 150 years of absolute Chakri rule. From then on the role of the monarch was relegated to that of a symbolic head of state. His powers from then on were exercised by a
prime minister and the
national assembly. In 1935 Prajadhipok (Rama VII) abdicated the throne, following disagreements with the government. He lived in exile in the United Kingdom until his death in 1941. The king was replaced by his young nephew
Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII). The new king was 10 years old and was living abroad in
Switzerland. A council of regents was appointed in his place. During this period the roles and powers of the king were entirely usurped by the
fascist government of
Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who changed the name of the kingdom from Siam to
Thailand, and aligned it on the side of the
Axis powers in the
Pacific theatre of World War II. By the end of the war Phibunsongkhram was removed and the young king returned. The
Free Thai movement provided resistance against Japan during the war and helped rehabilitate Thailand after the war. After Rama VIII's sudden death from a bullet wound in 1946,
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), aged 19 years old, became the new monarch. In establishing his rule, the king was aided by the efforts of the US government, who used the monarchy as a bulwark against communist gains in Southeast Asia. King Bhumibol was one of the
world's longest-reigning monarchs at the time of his death on 13 October 2016, at the age of 88, having reigned for 70 years and 126 days.
Contemporary monarchy Since 2000, the role of the Thai monarchy has been increasingly challenged by scholars, students, media, observers and traditionalists, and as pro-democracy interests began to express their speech. Many deemed that a series of laws and measures relating to
lèse majesté in Thailand are hindrances to freedom of expression. Dozens of arrests, hundreds of criminal investigations and multiple imprisonments have been made based on these laws. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's speech in his 2005 national birthday broadcast could have been interpreted as a suggestion that he
welcomed criticism. The
lèse-majesté law is part of Thailand's criminal-law code and has been described as the "world's harshest lèse majesté law" and "possibly the strictest criminal-defamation law anywhere". Political scientist
Giles Ungpakorn noted that "the
lèse-majesté laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In the past, the laws have been used to protect governments and to shield military coups from lawful criticism. This whole [royal] image is created to bolster a conservative elite well beyond the walls of the palace." The Thai activist and magazine editor
Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, who was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment for a violation of
lèse-majesté laws in 2013, is a designated
prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. The king is assisted in his work and duties by the Private Secretary to the King of Thailand and the
Privy Council of Thailand, in consultation with the head of the cabinet, the
Prime Minister. In accordance with the country’s constitution, the king is no longer the originator of all laws in the kingdom; that prerogative is entrusted to the
National Assembly of Thailand. All bills passed by the legislature, however, require his royal assent to become law. The monarchy's household and finances are managed by the
Bureau of the Royal Household and the
Crown Property Bureau respectively, these agencies are not considered part of the Thai government and all personnel are appointed by the king. The junta that took power in 2014 was aggressive in jailing critics of the monarchy. In 2015, it spent US$540 million, more than the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on a promotional campaign called "Worship, protect and uphold the monarchy." The campaign includes television commercials, seminars in schools and prisons, singing contests, and competitions to write stories and films praising the king. "This is not propaganda,"
Prayut Chan-o-cha, the leader of the junta, said. "The youth must be educated on what the king has done." In its
fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget, the ruling military government has increased its expenditure for "upholding, protecting and preserving the monarchy" to 18 billion baht (US$514 million), an increase of 28 per cent for this budget line item since 2014 when it took power. Budget allocations to support the monarchy in FY2020 amount to 29.728 billion baht, or 0.93% of the total budget.
Timeline of monarchs ==Royal regalia==