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Uparaja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ouparath, also Ouparaja, or Uparaja, are titles for viceregal positions reserved for of the Buddhist dynasties in Laos, Siam, Burma and Cambodia, as well as some minor tributary kingdoms of these.
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The Great Deputy King, in full Maha Uparaja Anaudrapa Ainshe Min, incorrectly interpreted as Crown Prince by Europeans, and addressed as His Royal Highness, was the single highest rank among the Min-nyi Min-tha, i.e. Princes of the royal blood.
However the position was not reserved for the highest birth rank (if there is one, Shwe Kodaw-gyi Awratha, i.e. eldest son of the sovereign, by his chief Queen), nor did it carry a plausible promise of succession, which was usually only settled in an ultimate power struggle.
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The deputy king was usually the brother of the king, and was the heir to the throne upon the death of the king. When the vice-king died before the king, the title often remained vacant for several years, until with a new king a new vice-king was selected. During the reign of the Chakri dynasty only Isarasundhorn became the next king, Rama II, after having previously been vice-king.
The relationship between the king and the vice-king was quite often a power struggle, as the vice-kings often tried to increase their power base to finally replace the king before his death. The last of these struggles was the so-called Front Palace incident in 1874 - a fire in the grand palace was attributed to the vice-king Bovorn Vichaicharn, who sought protection in the British consulate. The crisis started due to the fast-paced reforms started by the young King Chulalongkorn. As a result the reforms were stalled for several years, and when the vice-king died in 1885 the whole Ouparath system was abolished by the king. Instead he named his son as heir.
During the Bangkok times the vice-king resided in the Front Palace (Thai Wang Na) north of the Grand Palace, which is now the main building of the National Museum.
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