Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit dies at 93

Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who supervised royal projects to help the rural poor, preserve traditional craft-making and protect the environment, has died. She was 93.

The Royal Household Bureau said she died on Friday in a hospital in Bangkok, adding that she began suffering from a blood infection on October 17 and despite her medical team’s efforts, her condition did not improve. She suffered a stroke in 2012 and was afterwards largely absent from public life due to declining health.

Her husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October 2016. The bureau’s statement said King Maha Vajiralongkorn had directed that she be given a funeral with the highest honours, and that he had instructed members of the royal family and royal servants to observe mourning for one year. Mourners gathered outside Chulalongkorn Hospital on Saturday morning after hearing the news. “It is yet again another great loss for the whole nation. I heard about it at 4 am. I felt like fainting. The whole world seemed like it had stopped,” said 67-year-old Maneerat Laowalert.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Saturday said Sirikit’s passing was “a great loss for the country”. He said the national flag would fly half-staff at all government agencies for 30 days, and civil servants would observe mourning for one year. Although overshadowed by her late husband and her son, the current king, Sirikit was beloved and influential in her own right.

Her portrait was displayed in homes, offices and public spaces across Thailand and her Aug 12 birthday was celebrated as Mother’s Day. Her activities ranged from helping Cambodian refugees to saving some of the country’s once-lush forests from destruction. The Thai monarchy traditionally has avoided playing an open role in politics, but in recent decades of political upheaval, marked by two military takeovers and several rounds of bloody street protests, speculation grew about Sirikit’s views and her behind the scenes influence. When she publicly attended the 2008 funeral of a protester killed during a clash with police, many saw it as her taking a side in the political schism.

Sirikit Kitiyakara was born into a rich, aristocratic family in Bangkok on Aug 12, 1932, the year absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional system.