Seen under glass are life-size portrait statues of the enthroned king, with peacock medallion, and his chief queen, with rabbit medallion. The medallion symbols connect these royals to the solar (peacock) and lunar (rabbit) clan dynasties. A set of doors opens behind the throne. These statues are a convincing representation of how the king and queen would have appeared when giving audience. King Mindon ruled from 1853 to 1878, and was the last king of independent pre-modern Burma. His successor, Thibaw Min, was defeated by the British in 1885, after which Burma was annexed to the British Empire.