Front Palace (Bangkok)

The Front Palace (Thai: วังหน้า, RTGS: Wang Na), officially the Phraratchawang Bowon Sathanmongkhon (พระราชวังบวรสถานมงคล), was the residence of the royal holder of the same title (also known as the uparaja and usually translated as "viceroy" or "vice king", and sometimes as "Lord" or "Prince of the Front Palace", or "Prince-successor") during the early-to-mid Rattanakosin Kingdom.

It was home to five of the six Princes of the Front Palace, until the death of Wichaichan in 1885, after which the position was abolished by King Chulalongkorn in favour of a modern succession system.

Construction of the compound began in 1782, overseen by Rama I's younger brother and viceroy Surasinghanat, and was provisionally completed in 1785.

The outer court to the east and front of the palace was home to administrative offices and military facilities.

Also within the palace grounds, in the northern corner, was the royal temple or chapel, Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat.

When Rama II became king in 1809, the new viceroy, Senanurak, married one of Surasinghanat's daughters in the belief that by becoming a son-in-law, he would be spared from the curse.

The regent, Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse, controversially named Pinklao's son Prince Yotyingyot as the viceroy Wichaichan.

The Front Palace was subsequently stripped of its power and influence, and following Wichaichan's death in 1885, Chulalongkorn abolished the title, replacing it with the Crown Prince.

[6] The outer court was razed, in part to create the newly landscaped royal field of Sanam Luang in 1897.

The College of Dramatic Arts (now part of the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute) was established at the Itsaret Rachanuson Hall in 1934, before moving to the area of Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat.

[8] The architecture of the Front Palace consists of an eclectic mix of styles reflecting the changing times over which the buildings were built, as well its owners' tastes.

They range from the traditional Thai style of the original buildings to the Chinese- and Western–influenced structures built nearly a century later as the country was opening up to the Western world and beginning its modernization.

This changed during Pinklao's time, since he shared equal stature as the king, and the Khotchakamprawet Pavilion was accordingly built with a spire.