Sirikit
Sirikit is the Queen mother of Thailand. She was the queen consort of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and is the mother of King Vajiralongkorn. She met Bhumibol in Paris, where her father was Thai ambassador. They married in 1950, shortly before Bhumibol's coronation. Sirikit was appointed queen regent in 1956, when the king entered the Buddhist monkhood for a period of time. Sirikit has one son and three daughters with the king. Consort of the monarch who was the world's longest-reigning head of state, she was also the world's longest-serving consort. Sirikit suffered a stroke on 21 July 2012 and has since refrained from public appearances.
Early life and family
Sirikit was born on 12 August 1932, at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather. She is the eldest daughter and the third child of Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, and Mom Luang Bua Snidvongs. Her name, which was given by Queen Rambai Barni, means "the greatness of Kitiyakara".She had three siblings, two elder brothers and a younger sister:
- Prof. Mom Rajawongse Kalyanakit Kitiyakara, M.D.
- Mom Rajawongse Adulakit Kitiyakara
- Mom Rajawongse Busba Kitiyakara
As a child, Sirikit often visited her paternal grandmother. Once in 1933, she travelled with Princess Absornsaman Devakula following King Prajadhipok's tour in Songkhla.
Education
At age four, Sirikit attended the Kindergarten College at Rajini School, where she studied at the primary level. During that time the Pacific War was being fought. Bangkok was bombed many times, especially the rail lines, making travel unsafe. She therefore moved to Saint Francis Xavier Convent School, since it was near the palace. She studied at Saint Francis Xavier from her second primary year through the early secondary level.In 1946, with the war now over, her father moved to the United Kingdom as the ambassador to the Court of St James's, taking his family with him. Sirikit was then 13 and completed her secondary education. While in England she learned to play the piano and became fluent in English and French. Because of her father's work as a diplomat, the family moved to other countries, including Denmark and France. While in France, she studied at a music academy in Paris.
Also in France, Sirikit met King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was related to her, since both were descendants of King Chulalongkorn. At that time, Bhumibol had ascended to the throne and was studying in Switzerland. Bhumibol and Sirikit were staying at the Thai Royal Embassy in Paris. Sirikit accompanied the king as he visited various tourist attractions, and they found that they had much in common.
Marriage
On 4 October 1948, while Bhumibol was driving a Fiat Topolino on the Geneva-Lausanne road, he collided into the rear of a braking truck 10 km outside of Lausanne. He injured his back and incurred cuts on his face that cost him most of the sight in one eye. He subsequently wore an ocular prosthetic. While he was hospitalised in Lausanne, Sirikit visited him frequently. She met his mother, The Princess Mother Sangwan, who asked her to continue her studies nearby so that the king could get to know her better. Bhumibol selected a boarding school for her in Lausanne, Riante Rive. A quiet engagement in Lausanne followed on 19 July 1949, and the couple married on 28 April 1950, just a week before his coronation.Establishment of the Queen
The marriage took place at Srapathum Palace. Queen Sri Savarindira, the Queen Grandmother presided over the marriage ceremony. Both the king and Sirikit signed on line 11 of their certificate of marriage. As she was not yet 18, her parents also signed, on line 12 directly under her signature. She later received the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, and became queen. After the coronation ceremony on 5 May 1950, both went back to Switzerland to continue their studies, and returned to Bangkok in 1952.Issue
Regency
When the king undertook the traditional period as a Buddhist monk in 1956, Queen Sirikit acted as regent. She performed her duties so well that she was officially named the Regent of Thailand and the King gave her the title "Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat" on his birthday, 5 December 1956. She became the second Siamese queen regent in Thai history. The first was Queen Saovabha Phongsri of Siam, who served as regent when her husband King Chulalongkorn travelled to Europe, and later became Queen Sri Patcharindra.Health
At dawn on 21 July 2012 Queen Sirikit felt unsteady and staggered while exercising at Siriraj Hospital where King Bhumibol Adulyadej resided. A team of physicians determined after performing magnetic resonance imaging that she had incurred an ischemic stroke.The queen has been treated and has refrained from public appearances since, including the grand audience granted by her husband on his 85th birthday from the Ananta Samakhom Hall on 5 December 2012.
On 29 November 2016, the palace announced that the queen was discharged from the hospital and has returned to the Chitralada Royal Villa due to her recovery.
Cultural status
Queen Sirikit's birthday, like the king's, is a national holiday, and is also Mothers' Day in Thailand. She is particularly revered in the more remote and traditional parts of the country, where the monarchy is regarded as semi-divine. Her work in promoting tolerance and understanding for the Muslim minorities in the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have made her especially popular amongst Thai Muslims. The queen has a strong bond with southern Thailand, and she formerly spent months in the Muslim-majority provinces every year. She is considered to be one of the more quiet diplomats.Books and writing
Queen Sirikit published In Memory of my European Trip in 1964, which described her time in Europe with the king. It was this book that revealed that she was a talented writer. Moreover, she has composed songs for performance by The Handsome Band, the band of the palace.The songs she composed were:
- Chao Chom Khwan
- That Thoe
- Sai Yut
- Nang Yaem
Title, styles, honours and awards
Titles
Her formal name and title is Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat Phra Borommaracha Chonnani Phanpi Luang สมเด็จพระนางเจ้าสิริกิติ์ พระบรมราชินีนาถ พระบรมราชชนนีพันปีหลวง; "Her Majesty Queen Regent Sirikit, The Queen Mother". Her official title is Queen Mother Sirikit.At present, the queen ranks as Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet, and Marshal of the Royal Thai Air Force, usually mentioned in official documents that: Chom Phon Ying Chom Phon Ruea Ying Chom Phon Akat Ying Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat จอมพลหญิง จอมพลเรือหญิง จอมพลอากาศหญิง สมเด็จพระนางเจ้าสิริกิติ์ พระบรมราชินีนาถ; "Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet, and Marshal of the Royal Thai Air Force". The queen held ceremonial supreme power after her husband, who ranked as the Head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, in the Royal Thai Army.
- 12 August 1932 – 28 April 1950: Her Grace or Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara
- 28 April 1950 – 5 December 1956: Her Majesty The Queen
- 22 October 1956 – 5 November 1956: Her Majesty The Queen and Regent of Thailand
- 5 November 1956 – 13 October 2016: Her Majesty The Queen
- 13 October 2016 – 5 May 2019: Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of the Ninth Reign
- 5 May 2019 - present: Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother
Volunteer Defense Corps of Thailand Rank
- Volunteer Defense Corps General
Honours
National honours
- Dame of The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri
- Dame of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
- Dame Grand Cordon of The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
- Dame Grand Cordon of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
- Dame Grand Cross of The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn
- Member of The Order of Symbolic Propitiousness Ramkeerati - Boy Scout Citation Medal
- Freeman Safeguarding Medal
- Civil Dushdi Mala Medal
- The Border Service Medal
- King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal
- King Rama IX Rajaruchi Medal
- King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal
- The Red Cross Commendation Medal
- Commemorative Medal on the Occasion of the Coronation of H.M. King Rama X
Foreign honours
- * Grand Cross of the Order of Saint James of the Sword, 1960
- * Member of The Royal Order of the Seraphim
- * 1960: Knight of the Order of the Elephant
- * 1960: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- * 22 September 1960 : Grand Cross of The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- * 1960: Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
- * 1960: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
- * 1960: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
- * 1960: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- * 1987: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III
- * 1961: First Class of The Star of Mahaputera
- * 1962: - Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm
- * 1999: - Grand Cross of The Most Esteemed Royal Family Order of Selangor
- * 2004: - Grand Cross of The Most Esteemed Royal Family Order of Kelantan
- * 2009: - Grand Cross of The Most Distinguished Royal Family Order of Terengganu
- * 1963: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
- * 1963: Order of Propitious Clouds, Special Grand Cordon
- * 1964: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
- * 1965: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
- * 1968: Grand Collar of The Order of the Golden Heart
- * 1981: Grand Order of Mugunghwa
- * 1990: The Most Esteemed Royal Family Order Seri Utama of Brunei
- * 1992: Phoxay Lane Xang
Honours from former sovereign families
- 1963: Grand Cross of the Order of Beneficence
- 1963: Grand Cordon of the Most Esteemed Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol
- 1968: Iranian Imperial Family: Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Pleiades, 1st Class
- 1968: Dame Grand Cordon of the Most Exalted Order of the Queen of Sheba
- 1986: Member of The Nepal Pratap Bhaskara
Awards
Honorary degrees
Eponyms
Queen Sirikit is well known for her charitable work, where she is the honorary president of the Thai Red Cross, a post she has held since 1956. She gained new prominence in this role in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in southern Thailand in December 2004. She has also been active in relief work for the many refugees from Cambodia and Burma in Thailand.Many things in Thailand have been named after the Queen:
- the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, children's hospital
- the Queen Sirikit Medical Center building, Ramathibodi Hospital
- the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer, a new 10-storey hospital in Bangkok
- the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok
- the Queen Sirikit Park in Bangkok
- the Sirikit Dam on the Nan River, Uttaradit Province
- the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Chiang Mai Province
- the Queen Sirikit Arboretum Garden, Pathum Thani Province
- the Queen Sirikit Cup, an annual Asian-Pacific golfing event
- the Queen Sirikit Crab
- the Queen Sirikit Rose
- the Queen's Cup, annual football competition