About Her Majesty Queen Sirikit

Queen Sirikit was born Momrajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara on August 12, 1932, at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather. She is the eldest daughter and the third child of Mom Chao Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voraluksana, Prince of Chunthaburi and Mom Luang Bua Sanitvongse. Her name was given by King Prajadhipok. Her name means the Greatness of Kitiyakara.
 

Her Majesty the Queen has captured the hearts of the Thai people through her devotion to improving the welfare and well-being of her subjects. The Queen is perhaps best known for her efforts in reviving many of Thailand’s folk arts and crafts. Among several other initiatives, Her Majesty the Queen has long been an ardent ambassador for Thai silk. In 1960, Her Majesty the Queen decided that Thai women needed a distinctive national dress that would embody the traditions and craftsmanship of the kingdom internationally, with handwoven Thai silk, as well as plain, brocade or patterned, and tie-dyed silk, chosen as the material.

In 1970, the Queen began supporting the Thai silk industry in the northeast of the country, where the high quality “mudmee” silk had been produced for hundreds of years as a cottage industry. Six years later, mudmee silk, along with other cottage industries encouraged by the Queen, became the core for the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, known in short as the SUPPORT Foundation.

Her Majesty’s SUPPORT Foundation (or known in full as Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques) has expanded progressively since its establishment in 1976 to include craft shops in the city and popular tourist areas, and two Thai Folk Arts and Crafts Training Centers at Chitralada Villa and at Bangsai in Ayutthaya. Her Majesty’s projects also cover the cultivation of mulberry trees, the rearing of silkworms, reeling, dyeing, and then weaving threads into fabric, using various techniques.

Today, handcrafted Thai silk has an international reputation for quality, and has grown to become a multimillion dollar earner for Thailand.
 

How Thai People celebrated the Queen’s Birthday on 12 August 09

12 August 2009 marks the 77th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and serves as the National Mother’s Day and a national holiday. There are many celebrations going on all over the Kingdom, most of which were to show love and respect to the Queen of Thailand.

Starting from the early hours of Wednesday 12 August 2009, Thai people from all walks of life across the kingdom began their celebrations of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 77th birthday by offering food to Buddhist monks. In particular, 278 monks received alms from the public at the Sanam Luang ceremonial ground as part of a series of activities, co-hosted by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), together with the Foundation of King Rama IX and the Thai public sector. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the BMA followed advice of the Queen to conserve Thai art and environment.

In the evening, Bangkok residents gathered at Sanam Luang with the lit-candles in their hands in order to wish the Queen a happy birthday. During the month, many streets are beautifully decorated with the Queen’s pictures and an array of charming flowerbeds. Thai people also gave jasmine, a symbol of Mother’s Day, to their mothers and took their mothers out on a special meal.

On the eve of her birthday, Queen Sirikit granted an audience to Cabinet members and senior government officials at Chitralada Palace.

This year, Her Majesty the Queen was accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and other members of the royal family.

Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore celebrates Mother's Day

In Singapore, Team Thailand led by Mr. Marut Jitpatima, Charge d’Affaires, gathered on 11 August 2009 at the Royal Thai Embassy premise to pay homage to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of Her 77th Birthday on the 12th of August. The Royal Thai Embassy’s staff and other Thai agencies’ staff performed Thai traditional way of paying respect in front of Her framed picture and then sang the royal anthem “Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami” and “Sadudee Maharaja” (salute to the King and Queen) to express deep loyalty and gratitude to Her Majesty.  In addition, the Royal Thai Embassy’s staff also donated cash for projects under H.M. the Queen’s patronage.
 

Gist of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s Birthday Speech on 11 August 2009

In her annual birthday speech on Tuesday, Queen Sirikit addressed those who wish her well, and the public at large, saying that HM the King was in good health. She said the King had worked for 60 years continuously and followed the progress of 3,000 royally-initiated projects to improve the quality of life of people in the provinces across the country.

Projects under the King’s patronage are intended to help people earn their livelihoods and solve occupationally-related problems such as flooding and saline soils in the South.

The royally-initiated projects also revive local livelihoods like making artificial coral reefs in the southern province of Pattani as a habitat for increasing fish stocks.

Her Majesty the Queen has been the major support for traditional local arts.

Queen Sirikit mentioned the set up of the Bangsai Arts and Craft Center in the central province of Ayutthaya to promote supplementary occupations and related techniques-training for the financially disadvantaged.

The Queen praised their skills, saying their works were recognised by many foreign visitors and buyers from different countries and some of handicrafts are on show at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.

(Source of news coverage: MCOT, Last update : 10:59:48 12 August 2009 (GMT+7:00))
 

Opening Ceremony of Royal Project 40 @ CentralWorld

To read more about the Royal Projects by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and the Thai Monarchy, please visit:

1. Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary
 http://www.ohmpps.go.th/index_en.php 

2.  Office of the Royal Development Projects Board
http://www.rdpb.go.th/rdpb/EN/BRANDSITE/home.aspx

For a summary of Queen Sirikit's birthday celebrations in Thai, please click here.