Former Queen Sirikit of Thailand, mother of current King Vajiralongkorn and wife of the country’s longest-reigning monarch, died Friday night at the age of 93, the palace said.
The royal family is revered in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glossy media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes across the country.
Authorities ordered flags to fly at half-mast for 30 days, banned weddings and concerts and instructed citizens to wear black.
Former Queen Sirikit’s body will lie in state at the Grand Palace’s Dusit Thorne Hall in the capital Bangkok, according to the palace.
People react while holding portraits of former Thai queen Sirikit in front of Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok.
People hold portraits of Thailand’s former Queen Sirikit as they gather outside Chulalongkorn Hospital, where she died, in Bangkok on October 25. — AFP
People react while holding portraits of Thailand’s former queen Sirikit in front of Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok on October 25. — AFP
Thai mourner Pattamaporn Kaewpreyakorn (right) holds a portrait of Thailand’s former queen Sirikit in front of Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok on October 25. —AFP
Thai mourner Kanjana Malaithong holds a portrait of former Thai Queen Sirikit and Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej as she mourns at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital on October 25. — AFP
Shop owner Tanyaporn Arammetha (right) holds portraits of former Thai queen Sirikit in front of Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok on October 25. — AFP
Thai mourner Kanjana Malaithong holds portraits of Thailand’s former queen Sirikit as she walks at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn hospital on October 25. — AFP
A Thai mourner holds a photograph of Thailand’s former queen Sirikit as another cries at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn hospital on October 25. — AFP
Thai mourners hold a portrait of former Thai Queen Sirikit with the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej as they walk through Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital on October 25. — AFP
People hold portraits of Thailand’s former Queen Sirikit as they gather outside Chulalongkorn Hospital, where she died, in Bangkok on October 25. — AFP
Banner image: Thai mourner Kanjana Malaithong holds a portrait of former Thai Queen Sirikit and Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej as she mourns at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital on October 25. — AFP
