Worawongsathirat

Worawongsathirat (, ) was a usurper in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling for only 42 days in 1548 before being assassinated. Siamese chronicles relate that Worawongsathirat attainted the crown — his kingship is not accepted by most traditional historians.

His birth name was Bunsi . Upon entering service to the crown as keeper of the Royal Pantheon , a cloister on the palace grounds (with duties such as organising various rites and ceremonies,) Bunsi was styled Phan Butsithep . He was later promoted to the rank of Khun and styled Khun Chinnarat ; this was perhaps while he was having an adulterous affair with Si Sudachan , a first-class concubine of King Chairachathirat. (Si Sudachan was a title rather than her personal name, as one of the four first-class concubines, namely Inthrasuren, Si Sudachan, Inthrathewi and Si Chulalak. Her personal name is not recorded in the historical sources.

King Chairachathirat died in 1546, possibly poisoned by Si Sudachan's hand. Their young son, Prince Yotfa, ascended the throne as King Yotfa with his mother as regent. (Whether Si Sudachan and Khun Chinnarat had their affair before or after the ascension of Yotfa is subject to debate. Jeremias van Vliet's memories state that they met after the coronation of Yotfa which contrasts to those of Fernão Mendes Pinto. )

In 1548, King Yotfa was killed and Si Sudachan, still acting as a regent, put Khun Chinnarat on the throne styled "Khun Worawongsathirat". Traditional historians criticise this usurpation as a great violation of morality. Some modern historians, however, take an alternative view. In this interpretation, both Si Sudachan and Worawongsathirat, being of the deposed Lawo-Ayothaya clan, intended to restore it to the Ayutthayan throne. Thus Worawongsathirat's reign could be called a restoration of the Lawo-Ayothaya clan to Ayutthayan authority, at the expense of the Suphannaphum clan and other noble clans.

Those of the Suphannaphum clan responded by forming alliances with the Sukhothai clan led by Khun Phirenthorathep and Si Thammasok, and of the Nakhon Si Thammarat clan led by Khun Intharathep.