| Crown Prince Crisis | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Pro-Arunothai
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 Pro-Hadrian
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Suriyathibodi XV
|
Kasidit Seksan †
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| Thawin Thinnakorn
|
| ||||||
| Udom Jongthaleang
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supported by: | ||||||
 Manop Chayanto
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Cicero Octavio | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Pro-Arunothai: 2,000+
|
Pro-Hadrian: 400+ (all surrendered)
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| RJOKR: 50+
|
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| - | |||||||
Crown Prince Crisis was a conflict within the Suriya's royal family, between the Pro-Arunothai faction which supported Crown Prince Arunothai to become the next monarch and the Pro-Hadrian faction which supported Prince Hadrian, grandson of Suriyathibodi XIV, who have rights to assume the throne, according to the law of succession.
Background
The conflict roots from during the late reign of Suriyathibodi XIV. In 4525, The king had reformed the law of succession to open chances for the descendants of the king's female heir to ascend the throne. According to this new reform, it is also made his sister's son, Prince Saengsrichai, a legitimate successor as well.
In 4526, Suriyathibodi XIV died before his reform is completed. The regent council decided to chose Prince Saengsrichai to become the fifteen monarchs of Suriya which means that if Saengsrichai has a male heir the rights of successor will belong to his heir before the heir of Princess Benjamard, past king's daughter and king's cousin. According to Princess Benjamard herself, she mentioned that:
"I didn't care about the throne. I want to live with my family, have a quiet life and happiness... but someone always tries to make this nonsense bigger."
The situation has no sign of conflict until 4551 after Saengsrichai appointed his son to be the Crown Prince of Suriya. The Seksan brothers, the ex-servant of Suriyathibodi XIV, contact secretly with Cicero Octavio, the ex-ambassador of Mandarr, husband of Princess Benjamard and father of Prince Hadrian. The three agree that Prince Hadrian should to become the next king since he is six years older than Arunothai and has more suitable qualifications for both communication and education. Cicero mentioned the king in his diary that:
"Saengsrichai is a nationalist and xenophobia and does not follow inheritance rules for those reasons. And I remembered the first time I met him, he didn't say anything to me. But instead stared at me like a wolf".
The Seksan brothers planned to "encircle the grand palace" with more than four hundred soldiers under the brothers' command to coerce the king to deposition Arunothai. However, the plan was postponed indefinitely until October 11, 4553, when the Queen and Crown Prince proceeded to perform royal activities at Naritthani. The operation began.
Conflicts and Aftermath
At 15:00, around four hundred soldiers besieged the Maha Bhanuwong Palace. People and tourists in the surrounding area were panicked from the armored vehicles and tanks that surrounded the palace, with ready-to-attack status. At 15:30, a convoy consisting of two armored vehicles and one senior military officer car in the middle traveled into the palace. The situation is still tense and there are reports that the two generals are negotiating with the king in his private garden.
Until one hour passed, it appeared that there were 30 helicopter convoys follow by a convoy of APCs and tanks besieged a group of soldiers that remains surrounded the palace and announced them to lay down their weapons. There are reports that these troops number up to two thousand. They are on King's side and are supported by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense.
At 17:03 pm, the palace gate opened. A spokesman for the Bureau of the Royal Household and the commander of the Raja Ongkharak issued a statement as follows:
"I learned of this outrageous plan through my Raja Ongkharak unit. For this reason, I ordered the death penalty to General Kasidit Seksan and General Santhavat Seksan on charges of rebellion including damaging the image of the country and the royal family. And in addition, I will sentence life imprisonment to Mr.Cicero Octavio who supporting this rebellion and will not receive royal pardons in any way. And if anyone is thinking of helping, they will be punished to death".
Shortly after the announcement from the Grand Palace. It is reported that Cicero Octavio was arrested at Princess Benjamard's palace which possible that Saengsrichai has already prepared a resistance plan since the news of the rebellion.
There was an interrogation of soldiers that supporting the two generals. It turns out that nobody know this was a rebellion against the king. On the other hand, they said they came because there were rumors of an attempt to assassinate the king which can be concluded that the two generals have made up the news to cause confusion for both the military and the people.
The situation returned to normal at 19:45. However, on the next day, Princess Benjamard along with Prince Hadrian came to the king requesting for the release of her husband. Nobody know how the conversation going but nothing can change the king's thought at this point.