Seventy three years ago this month, Mohm Luang Bua Saritwongsa gave birth to a baby girl. The day was August 12th, and the child came to be known as Mohm Rajawongse Sirikit; named by her father, General HRH Prince Nakkhatra Manggala Kittiyakara Krommamuen Chandaburi Suranath upon the recommendation of HM King Prajadipok (Rama VII).
Any Thai will proudly tell you that the above paragraph refers to the birth of their beloved queen, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.
Visitors to the country, however, may be unaware of the depth of feeling for Her Majesty by her loyal subjects. Many tourists have asked why August the twelfth is a public holiday, and are pleasantly surprised to hear that not only it is the Queen’s birthday, but it is also celebrated as Mother’s Day, Her Majesty being the mother of the nation.
Queen Sirikit’s story, therefore will, we are sure, be of great interest to the many foreign visitors who come to our country throughout each year.
As a child, Mohm Rajawongse was sent to kindergarten at the Rajini school, before attending St Francis Xavier Convent school in Bangkok for her secondary education. Her father, then a prominent member of the Thai Diplomatic Corps, was posted to London where he took up his appointment to the Court of St James as Thailand’s Ambassador to Britain. The family joined him in London and thereafter on successive postings to Copenhagen and to Paris.