Prince Royal Vajiravudh Portrait 1895

Leslie Ward's chromolithograph, captioned *"A Prince Royal"* with the subtitle *"The Prince Royal of Siam,"* portrays the young Crown Prince Vajiravudh—future Rama VI—seated in a carved armchair, hands clasped, dressed in a dark Western suit with white collar and tie. Ward's signature *Spy* appears on the floor. The Siamese royal arms are embossed upper right. Ward renders the prince with conspicuous facial exaggeration typical of the series: the wide face and broad features reflect conventions of late-Victorian illustrated press. Politically, the plate registers Siam's careful diplomacy—presenting its heir in English dress to a British audience at a moment when Siamese sovereignty was under acute Franco-British colonial pressure.