Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, celebrated as a style icon and a key figure in Thailand’s modern monarchy, passed away at the age of 93, the Thai Royal Household Bureau announced on Saturday.
The Queen Mother had largely withdrawn from public life following a stroke in 2012. According to the palace, she had been under medical care since 2019 for various ailments and developed a bloodstream infection on 17 October before dying late Friday night.
A year-long mourning period has been declared for members of the royal family and household staff. In response to her passing, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cancelled his planned trip to the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. The cabinet is expected to meet on Saturday to discuss funeral arrangements befitting the late Queen Mother.
A style icon who won global admiration
Queen Sirikit was the wife of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch, who ruled for 7 decades from 1946. Throughout his reign, she stood beside him, earning admiration at home for her humanitarian efforts and abroad for her elegance and charm.
Her sense of style and sophistication captivated international audiences during royal visits. On her 1960 trip to the United States, which included a state dinner at the White House, Time magazine described her as “svelte” and “archfeminist,” while French daily L’Aurore called her “ravishing.”
Born in 1932- the same year Thailand transitioned from absolute to constitutional monarchy-Sirikit Kitiyakara was the daughter of Thailand’s ambassador to France. She spent her formative years in privilege, studying music and languages in Paris, where she met Bhumibol, who had been raised partly in Switzerland.
“It was hate at first sight,” she once joked in a BBC documentary, explaining the future king had been late for their first meeting. “Then it was love.” The two became engaged in 1949 and married a year later when she was just 17.
Known for her impeccable fashion sense, Sirikit collaborated with renowned French designer Pierre Balmain to create exquisite outfits crafted from Thai silk. Her efforts to promote traditional weaving helped revive the nation’s silk industry, which became a proud symbol of Thai heritage.
A lifelong advocate for rural Thailand
For more than 4 decades, she accompanied King Bhumibol on numerous trips to remote Thai villages, championing community development and social welfare projects for the poor- many of which were broadcast on the nightly Royal Bulletin.
She briefly served as regent in 1956 when her husband entered a monastery for 2 weeks, studying to become a Buddhist monk in a rite of passage common in Thailand. In 1976, her birthday, 12 August, was declared a national holiday and designated as Mother’s Day in Thailand.
After King Bhumibol’s death in 2016, their only son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn- known as Rama X- ascended the throne. Upon his coronation in 2019, Sirikit was formally bestowed the title of Queen Mother.
Although Thailand’s monarchy is officially above politics, the royal family has occasionally been perceived as influencing political events. In 1998, during her birthday address, Sirikit urged Thais to rally behind then-Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, undermining the opposition’s attempt to force an early election.
Later, she was linked with the royalist People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose protests led to the downfall of governments connected to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Her attendance at the 2008 funeral of a PAD protester killed in clashes with police was widely interpreted as a gesture of royal sympathy for the movement.
For millions of Thais, however, Queen Sirikit’s enduring legacy lies in her compassion and lifelong dedication to public service. Her death will be observed with deep reverence in a nation where the monarchy remains deeply respected and legally shielded from criticism under strict lese-majeste laws.
She is survived by her son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and 3 daughters.
