Thailand is in mourning following the royal palace’s announcement that former Queen Sirikit, the mother of the current Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and wife of the nation’s late and longest-reigning monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej, has died at the age of 93.
“Her Majesty’s condition worsened until Friday and she passed away at 9: 21pm … at Chulalongkorn Hospital at age 93,” the palace said in a statement on Saturday.
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Sirikit was married to King Bhumibol, who died in 2016 after seven decades on the throne.
She had been dealing with a blood infection since October 17, and despite her medical team’s efforts, her condition did not improve, according to reports.
A government spokesman said Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had cancelled his Saturday flight to Malaysia – where the ASEAN leaders’ summit will be held from Sunday to Tuesday – following news of the Queen Mother’s death.
The Thai leader instead held a cabinet meeting to discuss funeral arrangements. The atmosphere at the meeting was sombre, according to Thai news outlet The Nation, with all government officials present dressed in black.
Prime Minister Anutin will now fly to Malaysia on Sunday, according to The Nation, the same day US President Donald Trump is set to oversee the signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia after a border dispute escalated into all-out conflict in July.
King Vajiralongkorn has decreed that a one-year official mourning period will be observed by members of the royal family and royal servants from the date of his mother’s passing, according to the Thai PBS media outlet.
The late Queen Mother’s remains will be enshrined in Bangkok’s Grand Palace.
Although overshadowed by the stature of her late husband and her son, who is now king, Sirikit was a similarly beloved figure across much of the country, with her August 12 birthday celebrated as Mother’s Day.
Even during widespread student-led protests in 2020 and 2021 – which morphed into unprecedented public criticism of the monarchy and calls to repeal draconian lese-majeste laws – protesters’ ire was largely directed at the king rather than his parents.
The royal family is venerated in Thailand, and the monarchy is protected by some of the world’s harshest laws banning criticism of the institution.
Royal family members are treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide.
King Bhumibol’s death in 2016 was followed by intense displays of public grief and a yearlong official mourning period, with many Thais choosing to wear black for its duration.
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Sirikit was born into a rich, aristocratic family in Bangkok in 1932, the year absolute monarchy was replaced by a constitutional system in Thail