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Current Status: Permanently closed / Demolished (not open to the public)

Note: This article is written as a historical remembrance, intended to preserve and recount the site’s past significance.

 

Suan Bua Palace was once one of the important residential palaces within the Dusit Palace compound, reflecting the royal court of Siam during a pivotal era of transition toward modernity. Although the palace has now been closed and demolished, the name “Suan Bua Palace” remains recorded in history as a place closely connected to royal biography, significant historical figures, and the social transformations of Thailand over more than a century.

 

Suan Bua Palace was constructed by royal command of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who graciously ordered its construction to the west of Vimanmek Mansion and bestowed it upon Phra Vimadather Phra Ong Chao Saowalee Phirawm, Princess Sudhasininat Piyamaharajapadiwarada, one of his principal consorts. She played an important role within the royal court, particularly in overseeing the Royal Kitchen Department, a responsibility that required refined knowledge, meticulous skill, and sophisticated taste.

 

Princess Saowalee Phirawm, originally named Mom Chao Sai, was a daughter of His Royal Highness Prince Ladawan, Krom Muen Phuminmaraphakdi. She was born on 4 September 1863 and had four royal children, all of whom later held significant roles within the Chakri Dynasty during the late reign of Rama V and into the reign of Rama VI.

 

As time passed, Suan Bua Palace no longer served solely as a royal residence. Between 1972 and 1998, it was repurposed as a male student dormitory for Thammasat University, reflecting a shift in the use of former royal spaces to meet the needs of modern Thai society and education. Subsequently, the Bureau of the Royal Household reclaimed the site as part of a broader initiative to conserve and manage the Dusit Palace area.

 

In the late 1990s, there was a proposal to renovate Suan Bua Palace into a museum to display art objects that had been graciously presented to King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), in celebration of his auspicious sixth-cycle (72nd) birthday in 1999. However, this plan was never fully realized, and Suan Bua Palace ultimately came to the end of its functional existence.

 

Today, Suan Bua Palace is no longer accessible to the public, and the building itself has been demolished. What remains are archival records, photographs, and memories that testify to a small yet meaningful site within Dusit Palace—one that once served as a royal residence, a part of the royal household, and later an educational space across different periods of Thai history.

 

 

A: No. The palace is permanently closed, and the building has been demolished.

 

A: The palace itself cannot be visited, but visitors may explore the surrounding Dusit Palace area and nearby historical landmarks instead.

 

A: It is closely associated with the reign of King Rama V, one of his principal consorts, and the transformation of royal spaces in Thai society over time.