Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn (Royal Pantheon)
This building is the most important on the upper terrace and aligns with the entrance gate surmounted by a Thai-style stucco and porcelain crown. The two giants guarding this entrance are Indrajit in green with a bamboo shoot finial to his crown and Suryapop who is red with a similar crown. Behind may be seen the top of the Sawadee Sopha Gate (which is only opened on Buddhist holy days).
Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn was constructed by King Rama IV with the intention of housing the Emerald Buddha as he considered that the Ubosot was too low. However once the building was completed it was too small for royal ceremonies and, accordingly, other relics were installed instead. Later towards the end of the Fifth Reign a fire entirely destroyed the superstructure of the building necessitating its repair. Subsequently it housed statues of the five Chakri kings from the First to the Fifth Reigns. It acquired the name of Phra Thep Bidorn, translated in English as Royal Pantheon, during the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925).