The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin Era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; following the end of Taksin Thonburi's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The royal house was founded by Rama I, an Ayutthaya military leader of Sino-Mon descent.
Photograph of Mahidol Adulyadej, the Prince of Songkla and Mom Sangwan (later the Princess Mother).
The Chakri Mahaprasat, inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the dynastic seat and official residence of the dynasty.
Image: Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke portrait
Image: Buddha Loetla Nabhalai portrait
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 70 million, it spans 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi). Thailand is bordered to the northwest by Myanmar, to the northeast and east by Laos, to the southeast by Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the southwest by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the state capital and largest city.
Phra Achana, Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai Historical Park.
The ruins of Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai Historical Park.
Ayutthaya and neighbors, c. 1415 CE.
Painting of Ayutthaya city c. 1665, by Johannes Vingboons
