The Genesis of Dynastic Legitimacy in Absolutist Siam

Dynastic succession of kingship is commonly considered a defining characteristic of monarchy. Accordingly, descent though the bloodline is also seen as an essential prerequisite to legitimate claims to the throne. There are, however, no indications that this was the view in early-modern Siam, known since 1939 as Thailand. Rather than royal blood, merit acquired through virtue over many lifetimes according to the Buddhist teachings was understood as legitimizing kingly authority. As merit is not passed on through the bloodline, kingship remained always contestable and both contested successions as well as palace coups were not uncommon. This changed from the mid-nineteenth to the early 20th century, when for the first time in Siamese history succession rules were devised and codified leading to the Palace Law of Succession of 1924. These modern changes to the traditional practice of royal succession in the Kingdom of Siam, can be understood in part as an adoption of foreign practices, in order to appear ‘civilised’ according to European royal norms, against the backdrop of colonial expansion in Southeast Asia. Simultaneously, they can also be seen as a continuation of the long-standing attempts of ruling monarchs to express and extend their authority by determining their own successor.