A great way to get an idea of how the Thai Royals lived is to visit the Vimanmek Palace in Dusit district in Bangkok.
The Palace was built in its current location in the year 1900 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Originally, the Palace was constructed as a Summer Palace on the island of Koh Sichang in the Gulf of Thailand in Chonburi Province, where King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn used to come to enjoy a holiday. In 1900, the Palace was dismantled and rebuilt as Vimanmek Mansion in its current location in Dusit district in Bangkok.
The Palace, which is also known as Vimanmek Mansion, is the largest golden teak wood building in the world and was built without using a single nail. Vimanmek Palace was built in European style using Thai construction methods.
King Chulalongkorn used the Palace as his personal living quarters until 1906. After this, the Mansion was not used, until Queen Indharasaksaji lived here for a number of years. Since then, the Royal Family has not lived at the Mansion at it was used for storage by the Bureau of the Royal Household. In 1982, on the initiative of Queen Sirikit the Mansion was restored to its old glory.