The first Siamese medical school, the Bhatayakorn School () was founded under the royal decree of King Chulalongkorn in 1888 situated on the former Palace or today's Bangkok Noi campus at Siriraj Hospital and taught medicine as a 3-year medical certification course. After a visit by King Chulalongkorn and Queen Saovabha Phongsri, the medical school was renamed as the Royal Medical College (). The medical school was merged with Chulalongkorn University organized by Vajiravudh's decree on 6 April 1917 as the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University (now the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University).