FROM the striking mustard-yellow walls of the Palácio da Pena in Portugal to the sacred stepped walls of the Potala Palace in Tibet, royal palaces around the world are masterpieces of a country’s built heritage. But there’s something altogether especially captivating about those residences that have withstood the test of time to remain homes or governing spaces for working members of royal families and their households even today. Those presented here are among the most splendid and bustling of all.
Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
More than a palace, this is a complex in the heart of Bangkok that has been the official residence of the kings of Siam since 1782. Work on it began when the capital city was moved across the Chao Phraya river from Thonburi to Bangkok after the execution of late-18th-century King Taksin, a brilliant strategist who had become mentally unstable, and the accession to the throne of Rama I, Taksin’s former military commander, who founded the current dynasty. Other buildings were added throughout successive reigns until the palace reached more than two million square feet in size, covering 233 acres of grounds.
Home of the king, his court and the government until 1925, today, it is used for official events and state functions. It’s partially open to the public—visitors are allowed into the grounds and some buildings—and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand, as well as a pilgrimage destination for devout Buddhists. One of the most spectacular elements is the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, a gilded structure decorated with glass mosaics. It houses a medieval meditating Buddha, carved from a block of green jasper and swathed in gold—its costumes are changed three times a year to reflect the seasons.
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