This monastery was constructed in 1350 as a royal temple inside the Grand Palace compound where some former kings lived when Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam. The three iconic bell-shaped pagodas on a high platform contain the ashes of three great Ayutthaya kings.
The temple once housed a 16 meter high Buddha image of Phra Sri Sanphetdayan in its image hall. The Buddha image was left severely damaged after Ayutthaya lost the war in 1767. The 143 kilograms of gold covering the image was believed to be melted and taken away by the Burmese. What was left is now enshrined in one of the pagodas at Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) in Bangkok.
As it was a royal temple and used only for royal ceremonies, there was no residential quarter for monks. The same tradition applies to the current royal temple, Wat Phra Kaew, in Bangkok.
