Today is a national holiday in Thailand. It's Mother's Day and Queen Mother Sirikit's birthday. The 'mother of the Thai nation' has turned 89 years old.
Mother's Day has been celebrated on the Queen's birthday since 1976. The Queen Mother has not appeared in public independently for a number of years, following her severe stroke in 2012. Her current health is rarely reported.
Sirikit, born Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara (August 12, 1932) is the Queen Mother of Thailand. As the wife of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, she was Queen of Thailand from 1950 to 2016. She is also the mother of the current Thai King Vajiralongkorn.
Sirikit was born to Nakkhatra Mangala, the second prince of Chanthaburi II (1897-1953) and Luang Bua Kitiyakara (1909-1999), a great-granddaughter of King Chulalongkorn. She grew up in Europe, because her father was appointed as Thai ambassador to England, Denmark and France successively.
Daughter of Thai ambassador in Paris
The late King Bhumibol met Sirikit in 1948 in Paris where her father was ambassador to Thailand. Bhumibol, who had become king in 1946, was studying in Lausanne at the time and regularly visited the French capital.
In 1949 the couple got engaged and on April 28, 1950 the marriage followed. After that, both resumed their studies in Switzerland. The first of four children, Princess Ubol Rattana was born in Lausanne on 5 April 1951. The couple went on to have three more children: Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, born 28 July 1952. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, born 2 April 1955 and Princess Chulabhorn, born on July 4, 1957.
Sirikit has done much for the popularization and promotion of Thai handicrafts, especially by promoting the silk industry.
We wish everyone in Thailand a festive day!