Grand Palace - Inner Court

Inner Court

The Inner Court or the Khet Phra Racha Than Chan Nai (เขตพระราชฐานชั้นใน), referred to simply as Kang Nai (ข้างใน; RTGS: Khang Nai; literally 'The Inside'), occupies the southernmost part of the Grand Palace complex. This area is reserved exclusively for use by the king and his harem of queens and consorts (minor wives). These women were often called 'forbidden women' or Nang harm (นางห้าม; RTGS: nang ham) by the general populace. Other inhabitants of the court were the king's children and a multitude of ladies-in-waiting and servants. The king's royal consorts were drawn from the ranks of the Siamese: royalty and nobility. Usually there were also the daughters of rulers of tributary states. Royal polygamy ended in practice during the reign of King Rama VI, who refused to keep a polygamous household. It was ended officially by King Rama VII in the early 20th century, when he outlawed the practice for all and took only one consort: Queen Rambhai Barni. By this time the inhabitants of the court had dwindled to only a few and finally disappeared within a few decade afterwards. Historically the Inner Court was a town complete within itself, divided by narrow streets and lawns. It had its own shops, government, schools, warehouses, laws and law courts, all exclusively controlled by women for the royal women. Men on special repair work and doctors were admitted only under the watchful eyes of its female guards. The king's sons were permitted to live inside until they reached puberty; after their tonsure ceremonies they were sent outside the palace for further education. There are currently no inhabitants within the Inner Court and the buildings within are not used for any purpose; nevertheless, the entire court is closed to the public.

The population of the Inner Court varied over different periods, but by all accounts it was large. Each queen consort had her own household of around 200 to 300 women. Her various ladies-in-waiting were usually recruited from noble families; others were minor princesses who would also have a retinue of servants. Each minor wife or consort (เจ้าจอม; Chao Chom) had a fairly large household; this would increase significantly if she gave birth to the king's child, as she would be elevated to the rank of consort mother (เจ้าจอมมารดา; Chao Chom Manda). Each royal lady had a separate establishment, the size of which was in proportion to her rank and status in accordance with palace law. Altogether the population of the Inner Court numbered nearly 3,000 inhabitants.

The Inner Court was once populated by small low-lying structures surrounded by gardens, lawns and ponds. Over the course of the late 19th century new residential houses were constructed in this space, resulting in overcrowded conditions. Most of the buildings that remain were constructed during the reign of King Rama V in Western styles, mostly Italianate. The residences vary in size and are divided into three categories; small royal villas or Phra Thamnak (พระตำหนัก; RTGS: phra tamnak), villas or Thamnak (ตำหนัก; RTGS: tamnak) and houses or Ruen (เรือน; RTGS: ruean). Each was distributed to the inhabitants in accordance with their rank and stature. The court is surrounded and separated from the rest of the Grand Palace by a second set of walls within, parallel to those that ring around the palace as a whole. These walls are punctuated by a set of gates that connects the Middle the Inner Courts to the outside and to each other; the entrance through these gates were strictly monitored. The three main building groups in the Middle Court are built so that the residential halls of each are situated to the south and straddled the boundary between the Middle and Inner Court. Thus these residential spaces of the king became the focal point of palace life and the lives of the palace women on the inside. Immediately behind these residential halls are the large royal villas of high-ranking consorts such as Queen Sukhumala Marasri and Queen Savang Vadhana. Surrounding them are smaller villas belonging to other consorts such as those belonging to Princess Consort Dara Rasmi. Finally at the lower end (the southernmost part) are the row houses or Tao Teng (แถวเต๊ง; RTGS: thaeo teng) for the middle- and low-ranking consorts. These residences also functioned as a de facto secondary layer of surveillance, at the very edges of the Inner Court.

The Inner Court was governed by a series of laws known as the Palace Laws (กฎมนเทียรบาล, Kot Monthian Ban; literally 'Palace Maintenance Law'). Some of the laws dated back to the times of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Most of them deal with the hierarchy and status of the women, while others deal with their behaviour and conduct. The order and discipline of the inhabitants were enforced by a regiment of all-female guards (กรมโขลน, Krom Klone; RTGS: kromma khlon). These guards were described by Prince Chula Chakrabongse as "tough looking amazons". The head of this body was known as the Atibodi Fai Nai (อธิบดีฝ่ายใน; RTGS: Athibodi Fai Nai) the directress of the inside, under her command were various officials. These officials had specific responsibilities concerning every facet of life within the Inner Court. These responsibilities included duties concerning: discipline and jails, the maintenance of Buddhist images, the guarding of gates, the inner treasury and expenditure. One of their main duties was to accompany men, once they were admitted into the area, and to remain with them until they left. They controlled the traffic of the court and were drilled like regular soldiers. When any person of importance passed along the streets they ran ahead and cleared the way for them. At night they patrolled the streets with lamps or torches. Misbehaviour or indiscretion on behalf of the wives was punishable by death, for the women and the man. The last such punishment was met out in 1859 to a young nobleman and a minor wife, who were having an affair.

Only the children of the king could be born inside the Inner Court. Every detail of the birth of the royal child was recorded, including the time of birth, which was to be used later by court astrologers to cast his or her horoscope. Ceremonies concerning the birth and the rites of passage of the child was performed within the walls of the Inner Court. The birth of a royal child was first announced by a succession of women who proclaimed the news along the Inner Court's streets. There were two waiting orchestras, one on the inside made of women and one on the outside of men, who would then carry out the official proclamation with conch shell fanfares. If the child was a prince the Gong of Victory was to be struck three times. The children would live with their respective mothers and be educated in special schools within the court.

Although the women of 'The Inside' could never have the same level of freedom to those on the outside, life inside the Inner Court was not disagreeable, as life was easier than the outside and most necessities were provided for. The women usually entered the palace as girls and remained inside for the rest of their lives. As girls they would be assigned certain duties as pages; as they grew older and became wives and mothers they would have a household to look after. During the reign of King Rama IV, the women of the palace were for the first time allowed to leave; however they were required to obtain permission from the directoress first and were strictly chaperoned. Dr. Malcolm A. Smith, physician to Queen Saovabha Bongsri from 1914 to 1919, wrote that, "there is no evidence to show that they longed for freedom or were unhappy in their surroundings. Even Mrs. Leonowens, fanatical opponent of polygamy that she was, does not tell us that". Indeed Anna Leonowens' book The English Governess at the Siamese Court, publish in 1873, was set inside the Inner Court.