1924 Palace Law of Succession
The Palace Law of Succession, Buddhist Era 2467 (1924) (Thai: กฎมณเฑียรบาลว่าด้วยการสืบราชสันตติวงศ์ พระพุทธศักราช ๒๔๖๗; RTGS: Kot Monthian Ban Wa Duai Kan Suep Ratchasantatiwong Phra Phutthasakkarat Song Phan Si Roi Hok Sip Chet) governs succession to the Throne of the Kingdom of Thailand, under the ruling House of Chakri.
It was promulgated and came into effect in November 1924 as, in part, an attempt to eliminate the vagueness relating to succession within the Thai monarchical regime and to systematically resolve previous controversies.
The original Palace Law of A.D. 1360[1] relating to succession since Ayutthaya Kingdom period (1351–1767) did not lay out a clear system for determining a successor upon the death of a king.
Indeed, the history of the kingdom at that time is a chronicle of frequent usurpations and of ambitious men thwarting the final wishes of recently departed kings.
Historian David K. Wyatt observed that "virtually all successions to the throne of Ayutthaya in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were, at the least, irregular, and in many cases either disguised or real usurpations.
His chief military commander, then on an expedition to enforce recognition of his friend and king by the current ruler of Cambodia, hastened to the rescue.
When apprised of the full seriousness of situation, however, he concurred in the overthrow and founded the Royal House of Chakri as King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (later styled Rama I, reigned 1782–1809).
[8] In part, greater adherence to the idea that the wisest and most capable possible successor should be chosen has tempered the eight successions of the Royal House of Chakri during the Rattanakosin (Bangkok) era.
At a special council of senior members of royalty and officials, it was agreed that King Phutthayotfa Naphalai or Rama II (reigned 1809–1824) should succeed his father.
[9] After the death of Rama II in 1824, a grand assembly of the royal family, high officers of state and members of the Buddhist monkhood led by the supreme patriarch was convened.
[10] The nuances of all this were beyond the understanding of many European observers raised in the presumably less complicated tradition of primogeniture, in which the oldest male heir always succeeds by right of lineage.
A foreign observer of the time recounted that: "All parties concerning the question of the succession were preparing themselves with arms and troops for self-defence and resistance."
If Prince Mongkut became king, Rama III feared he might order the Sangha (community of monks) to dress in the style of the [Buddhist] Mons.
It selected 15-year-old Prince Chulalongkorn, the oldest son of King Mongkut, and Chao Phraya Sri Suriyawongse, a leading member of the powerful Bunnag family, was appointed regent.
As uparat, Prince Yodyingyot, who resided in the Front Palace previously occupied by his father, Phra Pinklao, had 2,000 of his own troops and modern military equipment.
In the Front Palace crisis of 1875, the troops of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, reigned 1868–1910) and Prince Yodyingyot nearly clashed when it appeared that the latter was challenging the throne.
"[19] The accession of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI, reigned 1910–1925) was the least problematic succession in the history of the Royal House of Chakri up to that point.
Based on his own experience as heir, King Vajiravudh knew that his father had wanted to institute a more ordered system of succession on the basis of primogeniture which unequivocally designated a crown prince.
This situation provided important impetus for drafting the Palace Law of Succession or kot monthian ban wa duai kan suep santatiwong in 1924.
Therefore any member of the royalty whom the multitude holds as loathsome, such person should forswear the path to succession in order to remove the worry from the king and the people from the realm.
"The last exclusion, Section 13, pertains to accession by a princess: Other points in the law provide guidance for when the new king is a minor under 20 years of age (a member of the royalty is to be named as regent and the two most senior privy councillors are to act as advisers).
On 11 November 1924, King Vajiravudh amended the Palace Law outlining a list of succession which adhered strictly to the Rules of Primogeniture, clearly stating that the son of a deceased heir would have precedence over the younger brother of his late father.
King Chulalongkorn fathered a total of 77 children of which there were 32 sons (however a lesser number survived into adulthood) by 4 different queens and 32 consorts but most of them were born of non-royal wives or Chao Chom Manda.
According to the Palace Law, Prince Prajadhipok, the only surviving full brother of King Vajiravudh via bloodline of Queen Saovabha Phongsri, was then the next in line to the throne.
The latter was childless while the former's only offspring was a daughter, who was born two days before his death and was excluded from the line of succession under Section 13 of the Palace Law.
The Palace Law of Succession, the Constitutions of Thailand, and the appointment of Prince Vajiralongkorn as successor in 1972 left nothing uncertain about the succession - upon the death of King Rama IX, the Cabinet was legally bound to inform the president of the National Assembly, which was in turn legally bound to invite Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn to become king.
[26] On the evening of 13 October 2016, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced "Dear Thai people, His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Ninth of His Dynasty, has passed away.
[31] On 1 December 2016, after 50 days has passed since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn granted an audience to Prayut Chan-o-cha the Prime Minister, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai the President of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), and Prem Tinsulanonda the Regent pro tempore at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall in Dusit Palace and accepted an invitation to ascend the throne from the President of the NLA in order to "fulfill the royal intentions of the late King for the benefit and happiness of all Thais".
[33] It was made clear by the Thai Government after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej that the succession is not automatic and needed to go through official procedures before proclaiming the heir as new monarch.
[34] During this period there will be no King, the heir will remain functional on his current title, and the president of the privy council will fulfill the role of regency pro tempore if there is no appointed regent at a time.
