Sirikit was born on Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara on 12 August 1932 and is the queen mother of Thailand.
30 Facts About Sirikit
2.
Sirikit was Queen of Thailand from 1950 to 2016 as the wife of Bhumibol Adulyadej and is the mother of the current King Vajiralongkorn.
3.
Sirikit met Bhumibol in Paris, where her father was Thai ambassador.
4.
Sirikit was appointed queen regent in 1956, when the king entered the Buddhist monkhood for a period of time.
5.
Sirikit has one son and three daughters with the king.
6.
Sirikit suffered a stroke on 21 July 2012 and has since refrained from public appearances.
7.
Sirikit was born on 12 August 1932, at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather.
8.
Sirikit is the eldest daughter and the third child of Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, and Mom Luang Bua Snidvongs.
9.
Sirikit had three siblings, two elder brothers and a younger sister:.
10.
Sirikit was raised by her maternal grandparents for a year after her birth, since her father was in the United States to work as the secretary of the Siamese Embassy at Washington, DC Her mother joined her husband three months later.
11.
Sirikit lived together with her family in Deves Palace, near the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok.
12.
At age four, Sirikit attended the Kindergarten College at Rajini School, where she studied at the primary level.
13.
Sirikit therefore moved to Saint Francis Xavier Convent School, since it was near the palace.
14.
Sirikit studied at Saint Francis Xavier from her second primary year through the early secondary level.
15.
Also in France, Sirikit met King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was related to her, since both were descendants of King Chulalongkorn.
16.
Bhumibol and Sirikit were staying at the Royal Thai Embassy in Paris.
17.
Sirikit accompanied the king as he visited various tourist attractions, and they found that they had much in common.
18.
Sirikit injured his back and incurred cuts on his face that cost him most of the sight in one eye.
19.
Sirikit 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.
20.
Sirikit later received the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, and became queen.
21.
Sirikit 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.
22.
Sirikit became the second Siamese queen regent in Thai history.
23.
At dawn on 21 July 2012, Queen Sirikit felt unsteady and staggered while exercising at Siriraj Hospital, where King Bhumibol Adulyadej resided.
24.
Queen Sirikit's birthday, like the king's, is a national holiday, and is Mothers' Day in Thailand.
25.
Sirikit is particularly revered in the more remote and traditional parts of the country, where the monarchy is regarded as semi-divine.
26.
Sirikit is considered to be one of the more quiet diplomats.
27.
Queen Sirikit published In Memory of my European Trip in 1964, which described her time in Europe with the king.
28.
Sirikit has composed songs for performance by The Handsome Band, the band of the palace.
29.
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.
30.
Sirikit gained new prominence in this role in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in southern Thailand in December 2004.