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Chakri dynasty

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Also known as House of Chakri

the royal dynasty that has ruled Thailand since 1782

Key facts

Country
Thailand (formerly Siam )
Etymology
Chakri (title of the Siamese samuhanayok )
Founded
6 April 1782 ; 244 years ago ( 1782-04-06 )
Founder
Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I)
Current head
Vajiralongkorn (Rama X)
Titles
King of Ayutthaya King of Siam (1855–1939) King of Thailand (1939–present)
Cadet branches
131 cadet houses (91 royal and 40 viceregal)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
dynasty
Country
Thailand
Show 4 more facts
topic's main category
Category:Chakri dynasty
Commons category
Chakri dynasty
native label
ราชวงศ์จักรี
inception
1782-04-06
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The Chakri dynasty, unofficially the House of Chakri, 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's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The dynasty was founded by Rama I, a former military leader of the Thonburi Kingdom who came from the old Ayutthaya elite.

Prior to his accession to the throne, Rama I held for years the title Chakri, the civil chancellor. In founding the dynasty, the king himself chose "Chakri" as the name for it. The emblem of the house is composed of the discus (Chakra) and the trident (Trishula), the celestial weapons of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, of whom the Thai sovereign is seen as an incarnation.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chakri dynasty” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.