Queen Sirikit, the beloved mother of Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn, has passed away at the age of 93. According to a statement from the Thai Royal Household Bureau, she died peacefully at 21:21 local time (14:21 GMT) on Friday in a Bangkok hospital.
The bureau said Queen Sirikit had been battling several health issues since being admitted in 2019 and was treated for a blood infection earlier this month.
For over six decades, Queen Sirikit was married to Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away in 2016. King Vajiralongkorn has ordered a royal funeral, with her body to lie in state at the Dusit Thorne Hall in the Grand Palace, where members of the royal family will observe a year of mourning.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has cancelled his trip to the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia following the Queen Mother’s passing.
Born in 1932, Sirikit met her future husband, then-Prince Bhumibol, in Paris, where her father was serving as Thailand’s ambassador to France. In a 1980 BBC documentary Soul of a Nation, she recalled their first meeting with humor, saying it was “hate at first sight” after he arrived three hours late, keeping her waiting while she practiced her curtsy.
The couple married on April 28, 1950, just a week before King Bhumibol’s coronation. Throughout the 1960s, they became Thailand’s most iconic royal couple—traveling the world and meeting world leaders including U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth II, and even Elvis Presley. During that era, Queen Sirikit earned a global reputation as a fashion icon, frequently appearing on international best-dressed lists.
In the same BBC interview, she described the Thai monarchy’s close bond with its people:
“Kings and queens of Thailand have always been in close contact with the people… we are considered the father and mother of the nation.”
Her birthday, August 12, has been celebrated as Mother’s Day in Thailand since 1976, reflecting her enduring image as the nation’s maternal figure.
Though she largely withdrew from public life after suffering a stroke in 2012, her influence and legacy remained deeply felt across Thailand.
Queen Sirikit is survived by her son, King Vajiralongkorn, and three daughters.
