The Royal Grand Palace in Bangkok is in reality a walled town covering an area of over a square mile. Besides the Chapel Royal (Wat Phra Kaeo) where the Emerald Buddha is enshrined, the principal objects of interest within the precincts of the Palace are the two halls of audience, the Dusit Maha Prasad Hall and the Amarindr Vinichai Hall. The first two date from the foundation of the city of Bangkok in A.D. 1782 .and were constructed during the early years of the reign of King Rama I. The Dusit Maha P rasad, which is considered the finest building inside the Palace and is certainly one of the jewels of modern Thai architecture, was erected for ceremony purposes such as receiving envoys from foreign countries. The coronation of King Rama I took place in the Dusit Maha Prasad, but after his death the golden urn containing his remains was exposed in that Hall. In the middle of the chamber is an interesting relic of Thailand’s early days: a big stone slab with carved edges, now used as the seat of a throne .
This stone was hewn in A.D. 1292 by Ramkhamhaeng, King of Sukhothai. The Amarindr Vinichai Hall is the anterior part of a system of chambers, the last of which, the Chakraphat Phimarn Hall, was originally used as a place of residence. The middle hall , Phaisal Thaksin, where important ceremonies such as coronation and solemn audience take place contains the gorgeous pavilion on which the King appears on these occasions.
The Chakri Palace is an imposing building constructed after the plans of a British architect in the style of the Italian Renaissance, but covered with a roof of pure Thai style. Most of it is occupied by the Thorne Hall.