A palace built with a capital
When King Norodom moved the capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh in 1866, the palace was laid out almost immediately on the riverfront site it still occupies. Most of the buildings visitors see date from that period or from later rebuilding — the Throne Hall in its present form was completed in 1919.
This is not a museum. It remains the residence of the reigning king, and the private quarters are closed to the public. What you walk through is the ceremonial half of the compound.
The Throne Hall and the Silver Pagoda
The Preah Tineang Tevea Vinichhay — the Throne Hall — is used for coronations, royal weddings and the reception of ambassadors. Its central spire rises 59 metres and is topped with a four-faced Brahma head.
The Silver Pagoda, properly Wat Preah Keo Morakot, takes its English name from the more than five thousand solid silver floor tiles laid across it. It holds the Emerald Buddha, a small baccarat crystal figure, and a life-size gold Maitreya Buddha weighing some ninety kilograms and set with thousands of diamonds.
The cloister wall around the pagoda carries a mural of the Reamker painted in the 1900s. Sections have been restored; others are deliberately left weathered.
In the gardens stands the Napoleon III Pavilion, a cast-iron structure given to King Norodom by France in the 1870s — an odd and rather charming European object in the middle of a Khmer compound.
Visiting
The dress code is enforced rather than suggested: shoulders and knees must be covered, for men and women alike, or you will be turned away at the gate or made to buy a covering.
The palace closes to visitors during official ceremonies, sometimes at short notice. Mornings are cooler and less crowded. Photography is not permitted inside the Throne Hall or the Silver Pagoda.