Chulalongkorn - The Young King

The Young King

In 1873, the king became a monk again and returned. The second coronation was held in the same year to celebrate the king’s maturity.

At the end of his regency, Si Suriyawonse was raised to Somdet Chao Phraya, the highest title the nobility could attain. Si Suriyawongse himself was the most powerful noble of the 19th century. His family, Bunnag, was a powerful one of a Persian descent dominating the Siamese politics since the reign of Rama I. Chulalongkorn then married four of his half-sisters. They were all the daughters of Mongkut – Savang Vadhana, Saovabha, and Sunandha with Concubine Piam and Sukumalmarsri with Concubine Samli.

In the same year, Chulalongkorn’s first reform was to establish the Auditory Office (Th: หอรัษฎากรพิพัฒน์) – to replace the corrupted tax collectors as the only institution that collects taxes. As the tax collectors were under the patronage of various nobles and also provided the financial support to the patron, this caused a great disruption among the nobility, especially the Front Palace. Since the time of King Mongkut, the title of Front Palace had been as powerful as the “second king”, with one-third of national revenue devoted to it. Moreover, Prince Yingyot of the Front Palace was known to be acquainted with many British men, in a time when the British Empire was considered the enemy of Siam.

In 1874, Chulalongkorn chartered the Council of State – as a legislative body – and Privy Council – as his personal counsel based on the British privy council. The members of the councils were appointed by the monarch.