Topic summary
Second King
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Front Palace.
Rattanakosin period
The Front Palaces during the Rattanakosin period wielded great power, with their own private army and even a navy. In 1851, King Mongkut made his brother Pinklao the Front Palace and then crowned him as a King equal in rank to himself, as was the case of Naresuan and Ekatotsarot. Pinklao also received all the styles and titles usually reserved only for the monarch; to Europeans he referred to himself as the "Second King". In 1868, after the coronation of young Chulalongkorn, his regent Sri Suriwongse arranged the grant of the title of Front Palace to Pinklao's son Prince Yingyot as Front Palace Wichaichan.