1924 Palace Law of Succession - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Palace Law on Succession, BE 2467 (1924) governs succession

Order of succession

An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...

to the Throne of the Kingdom of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, under the ruling House of Chakri. The law was established during the reign of King Vajiravudh

Vajiravudh

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Phra Bat Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Si Sintharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VI was the sixth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1910 until his death...

to systematically resolve previous succession controversies. The 1997 Constitution of Thailand

Constitution of Thailand

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...

relied on the law with regards to succession, but the 2006 Interim Constitution

2006 Interim Constitution of Thailand

The 2006 Interim Charter of Thailand was drafted by the Council for Democratic Reform after it seized power from the government of Thaksin Shinawatra in the 2006 Thailand coup...

made no mention of succession, leaving it to "constitutional practice." The 2007 Constitution

Constitution of Thailand

again relied on the Palace Law with regards to succession.

The law in historical practice

King Chulalongkorn

Chulalongkorn

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...

and his first three queens produced seven sons with the princely rank of Chao Fa : five by Queen Saovabha Bongsri, including Prince Vajiravudh

Vajiravudh

; one by Queen Savang Vadhana

Savang Vadhana

Queen Savang Vadhana of Siam was a consort of King Chulalongkorn or Rama V. Her full name and title was Queen Sri Savarindira - thus she was not the Rajini , but just was a highest consort...

, and one by Queen Sukumala. Overall the King had 97 children, including 76 sons (however of lesser number survived into adulthood) but they were of non-royal wives.

None of King Vajiravudh

Vajiravudh

's four princely brothers by Queen Saovabha produced a royal-blooded male heir. Prince Chudadhut Dharadilok

Chudadhut Dharadilok

Prince Chudadhuj Dharadilok, Prince of Phetchabun , was a son of King Chulalongkorn and Queen Saovabha of Thailand. He was one of the most senior Thai princes during the rule of his full brother, King Vajiravudh...

produced an heir with a maid. Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath

Chakrabongse Bhuvanath

Field Marshal Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanadh, Prince of Phitsanulok, , was the fortieth child of King Chulalongkorn and the fourth child of Queen Sri Bajarindra....

produced an heir with a foreign wife (Mom Katya). Children of foreign wives were barred from the succession in section 11 of the Palace Law.

Furthermore, three of the brothers died, leaving only Prince Prajadhipok Sakdidej. Vajiravudh

Vajiravudh

had only a daughter, and Prajadhipok was childless.

Queen Savang Vadhana had only one surviving son, Prince Mahidol Adulyadej

Mahidol Adulyadej

Mahitaladhibes Adulyadejvikrom, the Prince Father , or officially styled Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkla was the father of King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. He was also regarded as the father of modern medicine and public health of Thailand...

, who in turn had a son Prince Ananda Mahidol

Ananda Mahidol

Ananda Mahidol was the eighth monarch of Thailand under the House of Chakri. At the time he was recognized as king by the National Assembly, in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945. Six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot...

, later King Rama VIII, on 20 September 1925 with Mom Sangwalya. Prince Mahidol had another son on 5 December 1927, Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...

who is the current King of Thailand.

Queen Sukumala produced only one son, Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand. Prince Paribatra had one son, Prince Chumbhotpong Paripatra

Chumbhotpong Paripatra

Chumbhotpong Paripatra, Prince of Nakhon Sawan was the only son of Prince Paripatra to survive into adulthood...

, by a royal wife and another son, Prince Sukhumbhinanda

Sukhumbhinanda

His Highness Prince Sukhumbhinanda or Phra Vorawongse Ther Phra Ong Chao Sukhumabhinanda was the Prince of Thailand, a member of the Thai Royal Family. He was a member of the House of Paribatra , the Royal house descended from Chakri Dynasty...

, by a commoner wife.

The law based on the principle of male primogeniture

Primogeniture

Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...

, with first in line being the eldest son of the previous monarch and second in line being the next-oldest son, and so on. The law expressly ruled against women ascending the throne (this clause was abrogated in the 1997 Constitution

1997 Constitution of Thailand

For legal and historical context, see the Constitutions of Thailand articlethumb|275px|Bangkok's [[Democracy Monument, Bangkok|Democracy Monument]]: a representation of the 1932 Constitution sits on top of two golden offering bowls above a turret....

).

According to the Palace Law, Prince Prajadhipok

Prajadhipok

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VII was the seventh monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of the country. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to huge political...

(second eldest surviving son of the previous monarch, King Chulalongkorn

Chulalongkorn

, via the bloodline of Queen Saovabha, the most senior queen) became first in line to the succession. Prince Mahidol became second in line (although older than Prajadhipok, he was son of Queen Savang Vadhana, a more junior queen). Third and fourth in line would be Prince Mahidol's sons: first Prince Ananda Mahidol, then Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej. Last in line would have been Prince Paripatra, although this is unlikely given he has been in exile since 1932.

This line of succession was followed, with Prince Prajadhipok succeeding King Vajiravudh after he died on 26 November 1925 as King Rama VII. The absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

was overthrown on 24 June 1932, but the new constitution

Constitution of Thailand

continued to rely on the Palace Law regarding matters of succession. Thus, Prince Ananda Mahidol

Ananda Mahidol

, the eldest heir of Prince Mahidol succeeded the sonless King Prajadhipok after he abdicated on 2 March 1935. Prince Bhumibol Adulyadej succeeded the unmarried young brother and King Ananda Mahidol after he was assassinated on 9 June 1946.

The law today

The 1997 constitution of Thailand, like most preceding Thai constitutions

Constitution of Thailand

, continued to rely on the Palace Law with regards to succession. However, the 2006 Interim Constitution

2006 Interim Constitution of Thailand

The 2006 Interim Charter of Thailand was drafted by the Council for Democratic Reform after it seized power from the government of Thaksin Shinawatra in the 2006 Thailand coup...

does not contain any articles regarding succession, and instead, left it to "constitutional practice." Sections 22 and 23 of the 2007 Constitution dealing with succession again relied on the Palace Law.

The heir apparent to the Thai throne is Prince Vajiralongkorn, eldest and only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Bhumibol Adulyadej is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX...

. The Thai constitution was amended in 1974 to allow the Privy Council

Privy Council (Thailand)

The Privy Council of Thailand is a body of appointed advisors to the Monarch of Thailand: King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The Council, as the Constitution of Thailand stipulates, must be composed of no more than eighteen members...

to appoint a princess as successor to the throne. However this would only occur in the absence of an heir apparent. This amendment is retained in Section 23 of the 1997 "People's Constitution."

Constitution of Thailand

Recent constitutions of Thailand have made the amendment of the Palace Law of Succession the sole prerogative of the reigning King. According to Gothom Arya, noted public intellectual, this allows the reigning king, if he so chooses, to appoint his son or any of his daughters to the Throne.

The law in historical practice

The law today

See also