Thai royal & noble titles

Somdej Phra Chao Yu Hua

Title for a royal consort

The queen

Only the holders of the titles listed here (all contained the word "rajini") are the queens in the Western sense. There can be only one "rajini" at a time; the actual title depends on the status of the holder.

Somdej Phra Boromarajininat

"Somdej + [honorific name] + Phra boromarajininat"
or

"Somdej Phra Nangchao + [name] + Phra boromarajininat".

Somdej Phra Boromarajini

Somdej Phra Rajini

Other royal consorts who were born princesses

The following titles can traditionally only be held by the royal consorts who were born princesses, that is, holding the title of Chao Fa, Phra Ong Chao, or Mom Chao Ying. Together with the queen, they are known as Phra Panya Chao (พระภรรยาเจ้า -- 'royal wives').

Somdej Phra Boromarajathevi

Phra Nangchao Phra Rajathevi / Phra Nangchao Phra Akra Rajathevi

Phra Nang Ther

Phra Akra Chaya Ther

Phra Racha Chaya

Royal consorts who were born commoners

Chao Chom

Title for a royal descendant

Generally speaking, a child of a holder of the following titles inherits the title which is one step below. However, the inheritance is on the male line only: a female Mom Rajawongse married to a plain commoner would produce a child with no title. (However, see Khun (courtesy title) below.) Tradition also requires that a princess asks for royal permission and surrenders her title if she wishes to marry a man of lesser title, e.g. if a female Chao Fa wishes to marry a male Mom Rajawongse. This happenned in recent time to Chao Fa Ubolratana Rajakunya, who had to give up her title of Chao Fa to marry a commoner (who was also a foreigner). She still retains the style of "Tunkramom Ying, though. However, Chao Fa Chulabhonwalailak was granted a special permission by the King to keep her title when she married Sqn. Ldr. Weerayut Disayasirin, also a commoner.

The rules are also slightly complicated for the first two classes Chao Fa and Phra Ong Chao.

The 'princes'

Holders of these titles are still considered royal as they are at most two generations down from a king. Collectively, those who are children of a king are called "Loog Luang" (ลูกหลวง -- 'royal children') and those who are grand-children of a king are called "Laan Luang" (หลานหลวง -- 'royal grand-children'). In English translation, they are normally called "princes". Special forms of language are also used when one wishes to speak to them, although the language is less elaborate than when speaking to the king or the queen. A male Loog Luang who does not accede to the throne would also start a new royal surname, which normally reflects his birth name (as oppose to honorific name given later). The surname can be used by his wife if she is a commoner by birth, possibly with Na Ayutthaya added if she has no noble title. It is otherwise not normally used until his children or grand-children first hold the title of Mom Chao, when the surname will first appear in their names.

Chao Fa

1. Chao Fa of the First Class (เจ้าฟ้าชั้นเอก -- Chao Fa Chan Aeg). These are the princes/princesses born to the queen or to a royal consort who is also a Loog Luang. They would traditionally be referred to as "Tunkramom Chai(m)/Tunkramom Ying(f)" (ทูลกระหม่อมชาย/ทูลกระหม่อมหญิง), although nowadays they are more commonly called Chao Fa.
2. Chao Fa of the Second Class (เจ้าฟ้าชั้นโท -- Chao Fa Chan Tho). These are the princes/princesses born to a royal consort who is also a Laan Luang. They would traditionally be referred to as "Somdej Chai(m)/Somdej Ying(f)" (สมเด็จชาย/สมเด็จหญิง).
   

   Phra Ong Chao

   Phra Ong Chao (พระองค์เจ้า) is a lesser class of the princes than Chao Fa. They could be either:

Mom Chao

1. Children of a Chao Fa and a commoner.
2. Children of a Phra Ong Chao (of the first type).

The 'commoners'

The rest of royal progeny, starting from the children of Mom Chao, are considered commoners. They still retain their titles, indicating that their ancestry can be traced back to a king.

Mom Rajawongse

Mom Luang

What happens after Mom Luang?

Miscelleneous titles of the royal descendants

Mom (royalty)

Khun (courtesy title)

Title of a wife to a prince

Phra Chaya

Chaya

Mom (wife)

Feudal titles

The full title granted consists of a prefix, which signifies the rank (บรรดาศักดิ์ - Bandasak), and an honorific name (ราชทินนาม - Rachatinnanam), which can well be recycled. Taking the above example, the rank was "Luang" and the honorific name was "Narathiwat Rajanakarin". The appointee would use the full title in place of his names. However, as the honorific name can be repeated, when referring to a previous title holder, his former name may be written in a bracket to avoid confusion, for example: Phraya Kosathibodi (Lek) and Phraya Kosathibodi (Pan).

It is again a bit more complicated with the Chao Fa and Phra Ong Chao. If given a feudal title, the are said to "Song Krom" (ทรงกรม - lit.: "take department", but probably more semantically related to "take office"). The title would be prefixed with the word "Krom" (which will be pronounced "Kromma" when forming part of the name), and would be appended to (not replace) the former princely title. For example, the full title of the King's sister is "Somdej Phra Chao Pheenang Ther Chao Fa Galyani Vadhana Kromma Luang Narathivat Rajanakarin. Nevertheless, it is the princely title which will be more frequently omitted when contracting the title e.g. Somdej Phra Chao Boromawong Ther Kromma Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab (born Phra Ong Chao Disuankumaan).

Since the time of King Chulalongkorn, the honorific titles given to the royalties normally incorporate a city name or its modified form, and the holders are known in English as the Prince/Princess of that city.

Feudal titles are not inheritable.

Somdej Chao Phraya

Chao Phraya

Phraya

Phra

Luang

Khun

Mhun

Pan

Thanai