Windsor Palace Windsor

Windsor Palace was situated in Bangkok, Thailand, during the early twentieth century. Built on the orders of King Chulalongkorn to serve as the residence of Crown Prince Vajirunhis, the palace later became part of Chulalongkorn University but was later demolished to make way for the construction of Suphachalasai Stadium. The palace became known as such to foreign residents of Bangkok due to its partial resemblance to Windsor Castle, though it was also known to locals as Wang Klang Thung (The middle-of-a-field palace) or Wang Mai (The new palace).

History[edit]

Little has been documented about the construction of the palace. It was commissioned by King Chulalongkorn to serve as the residence of Crown Prince Vajirunhis, who was the king's first son and the first Crown Prince of Siam (Thailand). The palace was located on Sa Pathum Road (now Rama I Road) at the current location of Suphachalasai Stadium. The design, by an unnamed English architect and featuring Gothic elements, was inspired by Windsor Castle in England, and the palace became known to contemporary expatriates as Windsor. Locals called the palace Wang Klang Thung (Thai: วังกลางทุ่ง), lit. palace in the field, for its location, or Wang Mai (วังใหม่), which means new palace. The latter name in turn gave rise to Wang Mai Subdistrict, which is part of Pathum Wan District and covers the area where the palace was located. The palace had three main storeys and a central staircase, was built with imported marble, and internal decorations included neoclassical columns and statues.

Prince Vajirunhis predeceased his father, and it is not noted how long, if ever, the palace served as a royal residence. Following the prince's death in 1895, the palace was used as a school of cartography, and later on, agriculture. When King Vajiravudh (who succeeded King Chulalongkorn) established the Civil Service College of King Chulalongkorn (later to become Chulalongkorn University) in 1911, ownership of the palace was transferred to the college and the palace became the seat of the college's School of Mechanical Sciences. In 1916 the college campuses were consolidated, and Windsor Palace served as the centre of the Prathum Wan Campus (which by now also hosted the Public Administration and Education Departments) while a new Administration Building (now the Faculty of Arts Building) was being constructed.