Explores the changing role of the Siamese monarchy in the late 19th and early 20th century, a period of major national change. This book is based  on the doctoral dissertation undertaken by the author at the Australian National University. He shows how the monarchy's adoption of changed modes and material accoutrements, made in the light of its contact with non-Siamese, largely European, regal traditions and practices, influences the contemporary place of the monarchy in Thailand as well as the royal family's self-image.  The author is currently at the National University of Singapore.