The Crown Prince of Thailand (or Siam; th, สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร; ; lit. the royal son of Siam) is a title held by the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the Thai throne. First created by King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...

(Rama V) in 1886, for his son Prince

Maha Vajirunhis Maha and MAHA may refer to: * Maha (name), an Arabic feminine given name * ''Maha'' (film), a Tamil thriller film * MaHa, Nepali comedy duo, Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya * Maha Music Festival, an annual music festival held on th ...

, the king's eldest son by a royal wife Queen Savang Vadhana. Prior to this, the Siamese throne did not have a law or formal system regulating the royal succession. In 1688 King

Petracha Phetracha (alternative spellings: ''Bedraja'', ''P'etraja'', ''Petraja'', ''Petratcha''; also called ''Phra Phetracha''; th, เพทราชา, ; 1632– 5 February 1703) was a king of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Thailand, usurping the throne ...

of Ayutthaya created the title of Front Palace, which by the Rattanakosin period had become the main title granted to the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the throne. However few Front Palaces have succeeded to the throne this way, with the exception of King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (Rama II) in 1809. After the death of Bovorn Wichaichan in 1885, the title of Front Palace was abolished and replaced with the title of Crown Prince, who became heir apparent to the throne. In 1924 King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

(Rama VI) promulgated the 1924 Palace Law of Succession to regulate the succession, this law essentially barred females, children of commoner wives or children of foreign wives to the throne, it also re-affirmed

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, or succession through the male-line by seniority. This law also affected the individuals who could become Crown Prince. Since its creation three Princes have been raised to this title, and two have succeeded to the throne. The title in Thai, ''Sayammakutratchakuman'', comes from conjugation of the words ''Sayam'' (

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

'' makut'' (meaning “crown”), ''ratcha'' from Sanskrit '' rāj'', and ''kuman'' from Sanskrit ''kumār'' (meaning “son”).

Crown Princes

Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive to the throne

List of heirs apparent and heirs presumptive since 1886, those in bold succeeded to the throne as King.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *OKNation.net
"เจ้านาย" ผู้มีสิทธิ์ในราชบัลลังก์ เมื่อปี พ.ศ. 2477 (จบ) (Thai)
September 2009, Retrieved 2010-03-16 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heirs to the Thai throne Succession to the Thai crown Thai Thai monarchy-related lists

Crown Princes

Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive to the throne

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography