What it was
The royal chapel within the Grand Palace precincts in Bangkok, built from 1782 together with Rama I’s new capital; the Emerald Buddha was enshrined there in 1784. Unusually for a Thai temple, no monks reside there — it is a royal chapel.
Role
It houses the Emerald Buddha, a jade figure about 66 cm tall and the palladium of the kingdom. The image’s recorded history begins in 15th-century Chiang Rai — by tradition it was discovered in 1434 when lightning split a stupa — and it moved via Lampang and Chiang Mai, then to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, before being brought from Vientiane in 1779 by the general who became Rama I. The king, or his representative, ceremonially changes the image’s gold seasonal robes three times a year. The cloister murals depict the complete Ramakien, and state and royal ceremonies are held at the temple.
Fate
Wat Phra Kaew remains an active royal temple, widely regarded as Thailand’s most sacred Buddhist site. Part of the Grand Palace complex, it is among the country’s most visited places.