Early life[edit]
Sirikit was born on 12 August 1932, at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather. She is the eldest daughter and the third child of Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, and Mom Luang Bua Snidvongs. Her name, which was given by King Prajadhipok, means "the greatness of Kitiyakara".
She had three siblings, two elder brothers and a younger sister:
Prof. Mom Rajawongse Galyanakit Kitiyakara, M.D. (20 September 1929 – 15 May 1987)
Mom Rajawongse Adulakit Kitiyakara (2 November 1930 – 5 May 2004)
Mom Rajawongse Busba Kitiyakara (born 2 August 1934)
Sirikit was raised by her maternal grandparents for a year after her birth, as her father went to United States to work as the secretary of the Siamese Royal Embassy at Washington D.C. Her mother joined her husband three months later. When she was one year old, her parents returned to Thailand. Sirikit lived together with her family in Deves Palace, near the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok.
As a child, Sirikit often visited her paternal grandmother. Once in 1933, she traveled with Princess Absornsaman Devakula following King Prajadhipok's tour in Songkhla.