Front Palace Crisis

The Front Palace Crisis or the Front Palace incident (Thai: วิกฤตการณ์วังหน้า) (Wang Na crisis) was a political crisis that took place in the Kingdom of Siam from 28 December 1874 to 24 February 1875 (93 of the Rattanakosin Era). The crisis was a power struggle between the reformist King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) and the conservative Prince Bovorn Vichaichan, the Vice King. Chulalongkorn came to the throne in 1868, with Vichaichan appointed Front Palace or Vice King in the same year.

The progressive reforms of King Chulalongkorn aroused the ire of Prince Vichaichan and the nobility, who saw their power and influence being slowly eroded. A fire in the Grand Palace led to an open confrontation between the two factions, prompting Vichaichan to flee to the British Consulate. The stalemate was finally resolved with the presence of Sir Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, who supported the king over his cousin. The Front Palace was afterwards stripped of its power, and after Vichaichan's death in 1885 the title was abolished.

Since the elevation of Vice King Pinklao by his brother King Mongkut (Rama IV) twenty years earlier, the office of Front Palace had gained a considerable amount of power and prestige. Since Siam did not have a law of succession, the position of Vice King was seen as the strongest claimant and was therefore also the position of the heir presumptive to the throne. The Vice King also had his own army of over 2,000 men, Western-trained and Western-armed. He also controlled a naval forces of several steam-powered gunboats. The Prince also had a large share of state revenues over one-third of which is given directly to him for the maintenance of his officials, retinue, court, concubines and advisors.

In August 1868 King Mongkut contracted malaria whilst on an expedition to see a solar eclipse in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, dying six weeks later on 1 October. The young Chulalongkorn, who was only 15 years old at the time, was unanimously declared king by a council of high-ranking nobility, princes of the Chakri dynasty and monks. The council was presided over by Si Suriyawongse who was also appointed Regent for the young King.

During the meeting when one of the Princes nominated Prince Yodying Prayurayot Krom Muen Bovorn Vichaichan as the next Front Palace, many in the council objected. The most notable objection of this nomination came from Prince Vorachak Tharanubhab. The Prince argued that the appointment of such an important position was the sole prerogative of the king and not of the council, and that the council should wait until the king was old enough to appoint his own. Furthermore, the position was not hereditary and the appointment of the son of the former could set a dangerous precedent. The nomination of Vichaichan however was supported by the powerful Regent Chao Phraya Si Suriyawongse (Chuang Bunnag) who wanted to secure a line of succession by appointing an able and experienced Vice King (as the first-in-line to the throne). Si Suriyawongse was determined, he retorted by accusing the Prince of wanting to be appointed himself, saying: "You don't agree. Is it because you want to be (Uparaja) yourself?" ("ที่ไม่ยอมนั้น อยากจะเป็นเองหรือ"). The Prince replied wearily "If you want me to agree then I agree" ("ถ้าจะให้ยอมก็ต้องยอม"). As a result, Prince Vichaichan, at the age of 30, was appointed Front Palace (Krom Phra Rajawang Bovorn Sathan Mongkol) and Second King without the full consent of the incoming monarch. The relationship between Chulalongkorn and the Vichaichan would remain difficult for the rest of the latter's life, based on this fact. On 11 November 1868 Vichaichan's cousin Chulalongkorn was crowned Supreme King of Siam at the Grand Palace.

On 20 September 1873 King Chulalongkorn formally reached his majority at the age of 20, resulting in the dissolution of the regency of Si Suriyawongse. During the five years of the regency, Vichaicharn decided to limit his role and power out of reverence for the Regent, who arranged for his appointment. With the dissolution of the regency, Vichaichan was ready to reassert the powers of his office. Unfortunately, Chulalongkorn and his brothers (the Young Siam group) were at the same time trying to consolidate his own authority and return to the Grand Palace the power it had lost since the death of his father. Spurred on by their Western education, Young Siam was intent on creating a centralized and strong nation under an absolute monarch. To achieve this goal, Chulalongkorn needed to implement radical reforms in all parts of the Royal Government.

In 1873 the king established the 'Auditing Office' (หอรัษฎากรพิพัฒน์, now the Ministry of Finance). It was created to modernize and simplify the collection of state revenues and taxes to the treasury. At the same time, however, it deprived the control of nobility (as landowners) over tax farms, which for generations had constituted a large part of their income. The following years the king by Royal Decree created the 'Privy Council of Siam' (สภากรรมการองคมนตรี). Copied from the European tradition, the council was an effort by the king to shore up his own legitimacy and to create an elite he could rely on. In their inauguration speeches, the forty-eight councilors pledged allegiance to the monarch and his heirs.

These reforms infuriated the conservative faction at court, the Old Siam composed mainly of old aristocratic families, as the financial reforms eroded some of their old privileges. Politically the creation of the Privy Council meant that only royal favourites had access to political offices, depriving the old families of their influences. This group included Vichaichan, whose role in the finance and the government of the kingdom was slowly being eroded. Conflict between the opposing sides seemed inevitable. Vichaichan had the support of the British Consul-General to Siam, Thomas George Knox. He was originally recruited by Pinklao to modernize the Front Palace's armed forces. After Mongkut's death, Knox greatly preferred the mature and experienced Vichaichan — who was also the son of one of the most westernized member of the elite to ascend the throne — over the young, unknown and radical Chulalongkorn.