Queen Mother Sirikit died on 24 October 2025 in Bangkok at the age of 93, and her passing has triggered a year of mourning under King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The life of Queen Mother Sirikit spanned royal duty, rural development and cultural preservation.
Queen Mother Sirikit died on 24 October 2025 at 21:21 local time in Bangkok, and the Royal Household Bureau confirmed her death on 25 October 2025. She was 93. The stated immediate cause was complications from a blood infection. Her passing closes a major chapter in Thailand’s modern royal history.
A royal life spanning six decades
Born Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara in Bangkok on 12 August 1932, Queen Mother Sirikit became one of the most influential figures in contemporary Thailand. Her father, Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, served as Thailand’s ambassador to France, and she studied partly abroad. That helped make her fluent in English and French.
In Paris, she met the young King Bhumibol Adulyadej. They married on 28 April 1950, shortly before his coronation. For more than six decades she was the world’s longest-serving royal consort, and she remained closely associated with the monarchy through periods of major social and political change.
Mother of the Nation and regent
Queen Mother Sirikit was widely known as the Mother of the Thai Nation. She took an active role in projects aimed at improving livelihoods, especially in rural areas. She also became the first Thai queen to serve as regent, in 1956, when King Bhumibol briefly entered the Buddhist order.
Her public work went beyond symbolism. Through the SUPPORT project, the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, she helped protect traditional Thai crafts, textiles and handicrafts from being forgotten. The effort gave thousands of women in Thailand a steady source of income.
North, heritage and national memory
Queen Mother Sirikit had a strong connection to northern Thailand and played a significant role in promoting local culture and supporting ethnic minorities. Her initiatives also influenced the development of ecological and cultural tourism, and her presence is still reflected in national parks such as Doi Inthanon.
Near the King Bhumibol Pagoda, the twin Naphapholphumisiri Pagoda was created on her initiative to mark her 60th birthday. Since a stroke in 2012, she had rarely appeared in public.
What happens next
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, her son and Thailand’s current king, announced a one-year mourning period in her memory. Her birthday, 12 August, is observed in Thailand as Mother’s Day. For many people, Queen Mother Sirikit’s death represents the symbolic end of an era in which the monarchy was seen as central to national modernisation and unity.
For visitors with an interest in Thai heritage, Bangkok and the northern provinces remain the main places where her legacy is most visible, from royal commemorations to craft traditions and landscape-linked memorials.
