On the political front, there was a move away from one-man rule with the establishment of the Supreme Council of State, a powerful advisory body to the king, composed of five senior princes. This initiative was regarded in a generally favourable light, and it was widely expected that there would be further steps taken to broaden or transform the political system. In Paris, the Prince of Songkhla even went so far as to tell a gathering of officials and students at the Thai legation, "the new king will do something that no Thai king has done before, he will give the people a constitution in the manner of other civilized countries