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     Between 1886 and 1945 the Royal Palace suffered much degradation. When the British annexed the last Myanmar kingdom and deported the last Myanmar royalties King Thibaw and his Chief Queen Supayalatt to India in 1885, Mandalay Palace was ransacked and occupied by the British forces. Royal audience halls, throne rooms and Chambers were turned into garrison church, club and military quarters and barracks.
For nearly 18 years (1885-1901) the whole Palace complex was subjected to vandalism, abuse, and neglect.
Finally, at the Japanese retreat the British and American planes bombed the palace complex on 17th March 1945, and also fired with heavy artillery. The whole palace complex built largely of inflammable timber went up in smoke.