The Chakri dynasty, unofficially the House of Chakri, is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; following the end of Taksin's reign, when the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The dynasty was founded by Rama I, a former military leader of the Thonburi Kingdom who came from the old Ayutthaya elite.
Prior to his accession to the throne, Rama I held for years the title Chakri, the civil chancellor. In founding the dynasty, the king himself chose "Chakri" as the name for it. The emblem of the house is composed of the discus (Chakra) and the trident (Trishula), the celestial weapons of the gods Vishnu and Shiva, of whom the Thai sovereign is seen as an incarnation.
In terms of lineage, King Rama IV stated in his royal correspondence that the ancestry of the Chakri dynasty was not purely Thai but of mixed Mon and Chinese descent. According to historian Edward van Roy, Kosa Pan was the son of Phraya Kiat, a Mon noble who supported Naresuan during the fourth Burmese–Siamese War, and Chao Mae Wat Dusit, said to be a daughter of King Ekathotsarot and the wet nurse of Phetracha and Prince Narai, both future kings of Siam. Through his son Khunthong, Kosa Pan was a great-great-grandfather of King Rama I, the founder of the Chakri dynasty. His elder brother, Lek, held the post of foreign minister before him. Somdet Phra Pathom Boromma Mahachanok (Thongdee), meanwhile, was the father of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok. Some theories further propose that the dynasty may descend from King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya, which if correct would link it by blood to the Phra Ruang dynasty of the Sukhothai.
The current head of the house is Vajiralongkorn who was proclaimed king on 1 December 2016, but has reigned with retroactive effect since 13 October 2016 after the death of his father Bhumibol Adulyadej. The house's current seat is the Grand Palace. On Saturday, 4 May 2019, the coronation of Vajiralongkorn, with the traditional ceremony, occurred in Bangkok.
The present royal family of Thailand belongs to the House of Mahidol (Thai: ราชสกุลมหิดล; RTGS: Ratchasakun Mahidon), a cadet branch of the Chakri dynasty. The House was founded by Prince Mahidol Adulyadej (1891–1929) and Princess Srinagarindra (1900–1995). The Prince was a son of King Chulalongkorn and his wife Queen Savang Vadhana. The Prince was also the half-brother of both King Vajiravudh and King Prajadhipok. After the death of King Ananda Mahidol (Prince Mahidol's elder son), King Bhumibol Adulyadej (the Prince's younger son) ascended the throne in 1946. In 1949 the King married his first cousin once removed, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara (a daughter of Mom Chao Nakkhatra Mangala Kitiyakara, a grandson of King Chulalongkorn). Bhumibol was succeeded by his son Vajiralongkorn officially on 13 October 2016, but was proclaimed King on 1 December 2016.
This is a list of current members of the royal family:
The King and Queen (the monarch and his wife)
Princess Sirivannavari (the King's daughter)
Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (the King's son and heir presumptive)
Princess Ubol Ratana (the King's sister)
The Princess Royal (the King's sister)
The Princess Srisavangavadhana (the King's sister)
Princess Siribha Chudhabhorn (the King's niece)
Princess Aditayadorn Kitikhun (the King's niece)
The Princess Suddhanarinatha (the King's ex-wife and maternal first cousin)
Prince Chalermsuk Yugala (the King's paternal half-second cousin)
Prince and Princess Nawaphansa Yugala (the King's paternal half-second cousin and his wife)
Princess Srisavangvongse Yugala and Sakda Bunjitradulya (the King's paternal half-second cousin and her husband)