Royal Palace Cambodia
From my trip to Cambodia, I had planned to make only two posts – one about the Angkor temples and one about Phnom Penh. But there were so many photos, and they turned out so great, that I couldn’t resist. There will be a few more posts. Today – about the Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh was built in 1866 by King Norodom I after moving the capital from Udong to Phnom Penh. Since its construction, the Royal Palace has been used as the residence of the royal family, as well as the center of Cambodia’s administrative and ceremonial life.
Today, the Royal Palace continues to serve as the official residence of the King of Cambodia and as a place for receiving high-ranking guests from other countries. So, it’s kind of like Buckingham Palace in London, just a bit more modest.
Some parts of the palace are open to everyone, and you can visit them freely. I’ll tell you all about it in detail – both the palace itself and a bit about the king too.
Tickets and Opening Hours
It’s located right here. The entrance fee is $10, and $1 for locals. No need to buy tickets in advance – the ticket office is at the entrance.
Open from 8 AM to 5 PM every day, except on national holidays.
If you want to catch (though not guaranteed) a glimpse of the king in his robe, strolling in the garden, you should arrive at opening time. Other advantages – it won’t be hot, and most importantly, there will be few visitors.
Dress Code
Knee-length shorts and a t-shirt are fine. Shorts that are too short and a tank top – not acceptable. You can’t wear this anywhere, just like you wouldn’t go to the theater in sweatpants. This mainly applies to women. Shoulders must be covered. Otherwise, you’ll need to buy a t-shirt at the entrance.
Before Visiting
On your way to the Royal Palace, a local Phnom Penh resident may stop you and friendly suggest that, unfortunately, the palace is closed today. But his uncle has a sewing and ceramics workshop, and he can show you that instead. Or you might be heading the wrong way, and he’ll offer to show you the right path – only to discover half an hour later that the path goes right through that same workshop. Google Maps works perfectly; to be sure whether the site is actually closed, you need to approach the entrance.
Architecture
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is a complex of buildings where the King of Cambodia lives. In Khmer, the palace is called Preah Barom Reachea Vongcheat Tomuk (better not to try reading it out loud – you never know who you might summon).
Cambodian kings have lived here since 1866, the year the palace was built. It was empty only during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. Of course, the current Royal Palace is different from how it looked in the beginning. Some buildings were destroyed and rebuilt, and some structures were redesigned.
For visitors, the Throne Hall, the Banquet Hall, the Elephant Pavilion, the Pavilion for Royal Regalia, the Guest Villa for foreign visitors, and the Reception Hall are open. You can also see Buddhist stupas and the Emerald Buddha Temple.
The Throne Hall is used for religious and court ceremonies and for receiving official delegations. In the past, classical dance performances took place here.
The Moonlight Pavilion hosts performances of the Khmer Royal Ballet.
One of the buildings is used as a storage for gifts from heads of other countries. Admit it – you also have a special box at home where you put all the useful gifts from colleagues and relatives, right? For later, to make the ladies in accounting happy on International Women’s Day?
The Silver Pagoda is the official Buddhist temple of the King of Cambodia. It’s called the Silver Pagoda because the floor is inlaid with silver tiles weighing more than six tons. However, only a small part is accessible to tourists. The façade is decorated with Italian marble. The temple houses national treasures. The most famous are the Emerald Buddha made of French Baccarat crystal and the golden Maitreya Buddha, weighing 90 kg, dressed in royal regalia.
Photography is prohibited in most of the open halls. For visitors, the majority of what you can see is from the outside. But it’s all truly beautiful and stylish. Definitely worth the $10. Especially since all the buildings are surrounded by neat gardens – green, trimmed, and clean.
The Khmer Rouge Era
During the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979), the Royal Palace was abandoned and partially destroyed. The Khmer Rouge used the complex as a military camp and a storage site, and they also destroyed many cultural artifacts. The royal family was forced to leave the country during this period.
The Khmer Rouge was a radical communist movement that seized power in Cambodia and established a brutal regime aiming to create an agrarian society. Led by Pol Pot, they carried out mass repressions, forcing the population to relocate from cities to rural areas and work in the fields. Their rule was marked by mass purges, famine, and the destruction of the country’s cultural heritage.
I highly recommend visiting the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum to learn more about these events.
The King of Cambodia
The King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni, was born on May 14, 1953. His father, Norodom Sihanouk, abdicated the throne, and in 2004 Sihamoni became king.
A bit of useless trivia: in Khmer culture, the family name comes before the given name. And the name “Sihamoni” is made up of two parts – the names of his father and mother: Sihanouk and Monineath.
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Sihamoni was educated in the Czech Republic. His father asked various European countries to allow his son to study abroad, and Czechoslovakia was the only country that responded.
The prince attended a regular school with an advanced focus on foreign languages, then studied at a music and dance school, and later at a university where he specialized in ballet. In 1975, he graduated with a diploma as a ballet artist. This shaped his future life and career.
At home, the future king was nicknamed “the Czech.” While studying in Prague, he also learned Russian.
Interestingly, the King of Cambodia is the only living monarch who speaks Czech. The last king to speak Czech was Ferdinand I – King of Hungary and Bohemia in the 16th century.
Later, Sihamoni studied and worked in France, dedicating himself to dance and cultural diplomacy. He also speaks French and English.
Sihamoni has no wife or children, so the throne may be taken by another member of the royal family after him. In Cambodia, succession is not automatic like in other monarchies. The Throne Council, composed of high-ranking officials and religious leaders, selects the new king from candidates proposed by the royal family.
It is still unknown who will become the next king after Sihamoni. But potential candidates could include other family members, such as nephews.
