As "uparat", Prince Yodyingyot, who resided in the Front Palace previously occupied by his father, Phra Pinklao, had 2,000 of his own troops and modern military equipment. In the Front Palace crisis of 1875, the troops of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, reigned 1868–1910) and Prince Yodyingyot nearly clashed when it appeared that the latter was challenging the throne. Prince Yodyingyot sought refuge in the British consulate and, after lengthy negotiations, his troops were disarmed and the prince allowed to return to the Front Palace. When Prince Yodyingyout died in 1885, King Chulalongkorn discontinued the Front Palace and "uparat" system entirely. A year later, King Chulalongkorn elevated the oldest, full-blooded prince among his sons, Prince Vajirunhis (1878–1895) to the position of "Crown Prince" (; ). The investiture came well ahead of any expected succession. It was not surprising that the king at this time should choose a modified system of primogeniture to designate his heir apparent. A succession crisis might have left Siam vulnerable to interference from predatory, encroaching Western colonial powers. As Wyatt noted: "By 1910 year of King Chulalongkorn's death the Siamese had abandoned the old rules of succession to the throne and had adopted the Western pattern of designating the heir to the throne long in advance."