BANG PA-IN
	The Royal Palace at Bang Pa-In has a history dating back to the 17th century. According to a chronicle of Ayutthaya, king Prasatthong (1629-1656) had a palace constructed on Bang Pa-In Island in the Chao Phraya River. A contemporary Dutch merchant, Jeremias van Vliet, reported that King Prasatthong was an illegitimate son of King Ekathotsarot (1605-1610), who in his youth was shipwrecked on that island and had a son by a woman who befriended him. The boy grew up to become the Chief Minister. After having usurped the throne, he became known as King Prasat Thong. The King founded a monastery, Wat Chumphon Nikayaram, on the land belonging to his mother on Bang Pa-In Island, and then had a pond dug and a palace built to the south of that monastery. The chronicle records the name of only one building, the Aisawan Thiphaya-art Royal Residence, which was constructed in 1632, the year of the birth of his son, the future King Narai (1656-1688). It is not known whether or not the palace was in use till the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. However, by 1807, when the Kingdom’s best-known poet, Sunthon Phu, sailed past Bang Pa-In, only a memory of the palace remained, for the site was neglected and overgrown. The palace was revived by King Rama IV of the Chakri dynasty, better known as King Mongkut (1851-1868), who had a temporary residence constructed on the outer island of the Neo-Gothic style monastery, Wat Niwet Thamprawat, which was built by his son and heir, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). The present-day royal palace dated from the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), especially during the time 1872-1889, when most of the buildings standing today were constructed. Today the palace is used occasionally by the Royal family as a residence and for holding receptions. The compound includes pavilions and halls constructed in Thai, Chinese, and European architectural styles, a theatre, temples, and monuments. Most buildings were named in rhymes Aisawanthipphaya-at, Warophatphiman, Utthayan Phumisathian, Hemmonthian Thewarat, Saphakhan Ratchaprayun, Withunthatsana, Keng Buppha Praphat, and Wehat Chamrun. www.palaces.thai.net ***