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BANGKOK: Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who brought glamour and elegance to a post-war revival in the country’s monarchy and who, in later years, would occasionally wade into politics, died on Friday. She was 93.
Sirikit had been out of the public eye since a stroke in 2012. The palace said she had been hospitalised since 2019 due to several illnesses and developed a bloodstream infection on Oct 17.
A mourning period of one year has been declared for members of the royal family and household.
The government said public offices would fly flags at half-mast for a month and asked government officials to observe mourning for one year.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cancelled his trip to the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur due to the Queen Mother’s death. He told reporters he would travel to Malaysia to sign a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia on Sunday, but return to Thailand afterwards.
Sirikit’s husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch, with 70 years on the throne since 1946.
When they travelled abroad, she also charmed the world’s media with her beauty and fashion sense.
During a 1960 visit to the United States that included a state dinner at the White House, Time magazine called her “svelte” and “archfeminist”. The French daily L’Aurore described her as “ravishing”.
In 1976, her birthday, Aug 12, became Mother’s Day and a national holiday in Thailand.
Her only son, now King Maha Vajiralongkorn, succeeded Bhumibol after his death in 2016 and upon his coronation in 2019, Sirikit’s formal title became the Queen Mother.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2025
