Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit died late Friday, October 24, at age 93, the Royal Household Bureau announced. She passed away in Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital after developing a bloodstream infection noted on October 17, having largely withdrawn from public life since a 2012 stroke and receiving long-term care since 2019. Sirikit, widow of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and mother of the current monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, was renowned for championing rural development and traditional crafts, including revitalizing Thai silk.
The palace and government initiated mourning protocols on October 25, with flags lowered and a one-year period decreed for the royal household; Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul adjusted travel plans around the ASEAN summit as funeral arrangements began. Sirikit’s legacy includes serving briefly as regent in 1956, her August 12 birthday becoming Thailand’s Mother’s Day, and decades of philanthropic work that cemented her status as a national matriarchal figure.
