Wichaichan

Wichaichan () (6 April 1838 – 28 August 1885) was a Siamese prince and member of the Chakri dynasty. He was the eldest son of Viceroy Pinklao and Princess Aim, and thus nephew to King Mongkut (Rama IV). Wichaichan succeeded his father by being appointed the Front Palace and Viceroy of Siam in 1868, during the reign of his cousin King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). During his tenure the office of Front Palace was extremely powerful and rivalled that of the monarch's own. Inevitably the two forces clashed in the Front Palace crisis. Wichaichan was defeated and the power of the Front Palace was greatly diminished. After his death in 1885, the last vestiges of the title were abolished in favour of a crown prince. Notably, he is the only Front Palace that was elected by the council, not appointed by the king in accordance with the royal tradition, which is still considered as controversial and unorthodox practice to this day.

==Early life== Phra Ong Chao Yodyingyot Bovorn Rachorod Rattana Rachakumarn (พระองค์เจ้ายอดยิ่งประยุรยศบวรราโชรสรัตนราชกุมาร) was born on the 6 April 1838, the eldest son of Prince Chutamani and Princess Aim. It was said that his father gave him an English name in honour of his personal hero, the first President of the United States, George Washington. Therefore, he is sometimes referred to as Prince George Washington or Prince George. In May 1851 Prince Yodyingyot's father was elevated as Second King Pinklao or the Front Palace by his older brother King Mongkut (Rama IV). Pinklao also received from his brother all the styles, titles and honour of a monarch, despite never having been crowned himself. During his childhood the Prince received a modern education, including the English language and modern sciences. It was said that he became an extremely skillful engineer.