Home › Chronicles › The last days of Thonburi: what each document says
The last days of Thonburi: what each document says
Early in 1782 Phraya San's rebellion broke out in Thonburi and King Taksin entered the monkhood. When Chaophraya Chakri brought his army back from Cambodia he put down the disorder and took the throne. Every version agrees that King Taksin died in April of that year, but they differ on how, by whose hand and where, and several people who were there chose not to write about the scene at all.
What each version says
| Sources | What it says (summary) |
|---|---|
| Royal Chronicles, Royal Autograph version | Chaophraya Chakri had the charges put to him and King Taksin admitted his guilt on every count, so he was ordered to be taken away for execution. On the way he asked to stop and see the regent, but when the regent caught sight of him he waved his hand for him not to be brought in. He was then taken and beheaded in front of Wichai Prasit Fortress. |
| Royal Chronicle of Thonburi, Phan Chanthanumat (Choem) version | On the morning of Saturday, the 9th day of the waning moon of the 5th lunar month (6 April 1782), Chaophraya Chakri crossed from the pavilion in front of Wat Photharam to the palace. The officials conferred and held that the king had abandoned righteousness, and asked that he be made to leave the monkhood and be executed. Soldiers who bore him a grudge then took the king and his followers and put them to death at once, at the fort at the lower end of the town. |
| The Astrologers' Records | A brief entry: on Wednesday, the 13th day of the waning moon of the 5th lunar month, Chao Tak died, aged 48 years and 15 days. The Mon version says Phraya Chakri came back from the Vietnamese country, entered Bangkok and killed the old king. |
| Memoirs of Princess Narinthewi | Tells of the disturbances in detail: King Taksin, for instance, stopping the officials who wanted to fire their guns and fight, with the words "My merit is at an end; do not bring hardship on the common people." But it skips the death scene altogether, and takes up the story again at the coronation of King Rama I. |
| Succession of the Kings of the Old Capital, in verse | Says that officials and commoners seized King Taksin, put him in irons and flogged him, and then uses words meaning that a sudden disorder of the mind arose and the king's life went out. Pramin Kruathong reads this as possibly meaning that he died of a sudden attack, not by execution. |
The sequence the sources agree on
Early in 1782, while Chaophraya Chakri and Chaophraya Surasi were on campaign in Cambodia, Phraya San rebelled and seized Thonburi, and King Taksin entered the monkhood at Wat Chaeng. Phraya Suriya Aphai then brought a force from Nakhon Ratchasima and hemmed in Phraya San's side, waiting for Chaophraya Chakri, who arrived back with his army early in April, put down the disorder, then took the throne as King Rama I and founded Bangkok on the east bank.
The date generally used for the death is 7 April 1782. Read directly from the documents, however, the Phan Chanthanumat version makes it the same day Chaophraya Chakri entered the city, the 9th day of the waning moon of the 5th lunar month, while the Astrologers' Records give Wednesday, the 13th day of the waning moon of the 5th lunar month, only a few days apart.
The missing scene
At least three people who were probably there wrote about the disturbances: Somdet Phra Wannarat in the Sangitiyavamsa, Princess Narinthewi in her memoirs, and Phra Chamni Wohan in his verses in praise of King Rama I. All three tell of the events before and after in detail, but none writes the death scene. Pramin Kruathong sees this as a way of not reopening an old wound.
It is this gap that gave rise to stories outside the chronicles, such as that a double was used on the day of the execution and the real King Taksin escaped to become a monk at Nakhon Si Thammarat, for which there is no contemporary evidence.
The places today
Wichai Prasit Fortress, at the mouth of Khlong Bangkok Yai, is still inside the Royal Thai Navy compound, near the Thonburi Palace. At Wat Intharam Worawihan, in Thon Buri district, there are twin chedis in front of the old ordination hall, believed to hold the ashes of King Taksin and his principal queen. People go there to pay their respects on 28 December every year.
Where historians still disagree
- How he died: beheaded, according to the Royal Autograph version; taken away and put to death by soldiers, according to the Phan Chanthanumat version; or dying of his own accord, according to the Succession of the Kings of the Old Capital.
- The date of death: 6, 7 or 10 April 1782, depending on the document and the calculation.
Frequently asked questions
Where did King Taksin die?
The Royal Autograph version says in front of Wichai Prasit Fortress; the Phan Chanthanumat version says at the fort at the lower end of the town.
Where are King Taksin's ashes?
They are believed to be enshrined in the chedi in front of the old ordination hall at Wat Intharam Worawihan, Thon Buri district.
Last updated 13 November 2026