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Long Live
Her Majesty the Queen!
ทีฆายุกาโหตุ มหาราชินี
Queen Sirikit, Mother of the Populace
It has been more than 47 years since the royal wedding on
April 28, 1950 of Majesties King Bhumiphol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. Her
Majesty’s selfless dedication has since been evident and appreciated by her
subjects throughout the nation. On October 22, 1956, when His Majesty entered
the monkhood, Queen Sirikit, the second Queen of the Chakri Dynasty, was
appointed Queen Regent.
Despite her high office as Queen of the nation, Her Majesty, when free from
official functions, is a mother highly regarded by her children. She brought
them up in the mold of traditional Thai values in which the junior pay respect
to the elder, obey their seniors and learn to be self-sufficient. The
benevolence of Her Majesty the Queen bestowed on her subjects, including those
living in remote rural areas, explains the love she has earned from her people
who regard her as Mother of the Populace. Thus, August 12, is more than just the
day the nation celebrates Her Majesty’s birthday, it is also observed as
National Mother’s Day.
Premier General P. Pibulasongkram first introduced Mother’s Day to Thailand in
1950 when the day was celebrated on April 15. On this day, a religious ceremony
was held alongside a National Mother contest and Mother’s Day Slogan
competition. In 1976, however, April 15 was replaced by Her Majesty the Queen’s
birthday on August 12.
On August 12, jasmine, symbolic of the selfless virtue of a mother who gives
life to her children, is seen everywhere. National flags decorate buildings to
wish Her Majesty many happy returns of the day and a long life. Charitable
activities, food offering to monks and donations are part of the events of the
day to express children’s gratitude to every mother.
Happy Birthday Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.
Long Live The Queen!
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Royal Projects from Her Majesty the Queen
Although His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej assumed his
kingship on June 9, 1946, he was officially proclaimed the ninth monarch of the
Chakri Dynasty in accordance with the ancient royal tradition on May 5, 1951. On
the day of his coronation, his Majesty invested his royal consort Mom Rajawongse
Sirikit Kitiyakara with the full title and rank of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of
Thailand.
Throughout His Majesty’s 50 years on the throne, Her Majesty the Queen has
always stood side by side with His Majesty the King. She has visited Thai people
in all corners of the country and helped His Majesty in development work
concerning agriculture, water sources and irrigation. Her Majesty has initiated
a project aimed at providing villagers with training in handicraft-making to
increase their income. She has also been actively involved in natural resources
conservation which will bring a better quality of life to the Thai people and
contribute to the country’s sustainable economic and social development. Our
page is present the story of Her Majesty’s two major achievements, one on the
conservation project, called “Small House in the Vast Forest” in Kamphaeng Phet
Province and the other on the Chitralada Shop, established by the Foundation for
the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Techniques (SUPPORT) under Her
Majesty’s royal patronage.
On the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday, August 12, Thai People
across the country join in humbly extending best wishes to Her Majesty.
Long live Her Majesty the Queen.
Her Majesty The Queen Sirikit
The dedication to public service exemplified by King Bhumibol
Adulyadej’s life is also found in other members of the Royal Family, who consist
of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Royal Children, Her Royal Highness the
Princess Mother, and the King’s sister Princess Galyani Vadhana. Like His
Majesty, all these work untiringly for the benefit of the country, sometimes
participating in projects initiated by the King and sometimes in others of their
own; in doing so all have contributed significantly to the creation of
Thailand’s modern monarchy.
Queen Sirikit spends as much time travelling as her husband, equally indifferent
to discomforts and long hours, and her interest in the welfare of rural people
closely parallels his. An area in which she has taken a particularly deep
interest is that of finding sources of supplementary income in the off-season or
when crops are destroyed by droughts or floods. It was to combat such problems
that the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and
Techniques (known as SUPPORT) was established in 1976 under Her Majesty’s royal
patronage, partly through funds supplied by Her Majesty and partly with public
donations.
SUPPORT’s primary objective is to set up women’s groups and provide rural Thai
women with equipment, materials, and training in cottage industries. The latter
include some 18 traditional crafts which Her Majesty felt were worthy of being
promoted on both local and world markets, among them embroidery and weaving in
the north, a kind of ikat silk called matmi in the northeast, doll and
rattanware making in the central region, and yan lipao, basketry woven of a
strong indigenous vine, in the south. These are marketed through a chain of
Chitralada Shops in Thailand and through department stores abroad. Most of the
crafts are indigenous to the areas where the projects have been set up and use
readily available raw materials, thus making it easier for families to acquire a
second source of income for basic necessities when emergencies arise.
Besides individual projects in various parts of the country, SUPPORT has
established two multi-craft training centers. One is in the compound of
Chitralada Villa, where around 200 students attend classes taught by masters of
particular crafts; the other, founded in 1980, is the Bangsai Arts and Crafts
Center, located on the Chao Phraya River near the old capital of Ayutthaya,
which has an enrollment of around 300. At both students are given a daily
allowance, travelling expenses, and extra pay for the crafts they produce; after
training they return to their villages to pass on the skills to others.
The Queen has personally undertaken the promotion of these crafts through trips
abroad to meet potential buyers and also by using them prominently in her own
wardrobe; mudmee, for example, which was once hardly known outside the region
where it was made, is now regarded as one of the most fashionable dress
materials in Thailand and it was also featured in a collection by the French
designer Pierre Balmain. The Queen’s interest in handicraft development led to
the celebration of the Thailand Arts and Crafts Year, held from August 12, 1988
to December 31, 1989, which featured a wide variety of exhibitions,
demonstrations, and other events under the auspices of the Tourism Authority of
Thailand.
For her work among rural women, Queen Sirikit was awarded the prestigious Ceres
Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, bringing
international recognition to an achievement already well-known to countless
Thais who have benefitted from it. In 1988, she was awarded an Honorary
Fellowship in Great Britain’s 470-year-old Royal College of Physicians, the
highest honor the college confers, for her “deep concern for the health and
welfare of the people of Thailand.”
The Queen’s efforts on behalf of the less fortunate members of society have also
extended to the refugees from Indochina who have come to Thailand in such large
numbers since the late 1970’s. Similar handicraft training projects have been
set up in the Kao Larn Red Cross Camp for women with young children, enabling
them to produce goods and earn money while awaiting resettlement. Members of the
northern hill tribes have benefitted as well and many are attending SUPPORT
centers, where they are given new ideas to use in such traditional skills as
embroidery and jewelry-making.
Sharing the King’s concern over the destruction of the natural environment,
Queen Sirikit is an active member of the World Wildlife Fund (Thailand) and has
worked for years on behalf of conservation of forest areas as a part of
watershed development and as a means of helping preserve wild animals,
especially those in danger of extinction. To this end, she has actively lent her
support to an afforestation project in the northeast, Thailand’s most arid
region, and has worked closely with concerned people to protect wildlife
habitats.
Despite her deep involvement in these projects, as well as other
responsibilities which include numerous royal ceremonies and serving as
Colonel-in-Chief of the 21st Royal Guards Infantry Regiment, Her Majesty has
also found the time to be an attentive mother, passing on to her children the
same dedication to public service that has characterized the reign.
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Rural Projects from Her Majesty the Queen
The barren forest and the poverty due to lack of farming land
witnessed by Her Majesty the Queen during her visits to her subjects in remote
rural areas have been the inspiration behind the Small House in the Forest -
Baan Lek Nai Paa Yai - Project at Bann Udomsap, Hin Dard subdistrict, branch
district of Paang Sila Thong, Kamphaeng Phet Province.
Lying 358 kilometres north of Bangkok is the site of Kamphaeng Phet, a province
known for its historical importance as an ancient city with traces of seven
centuries of past prosperity. Its plains and mountains have long been the
settlements for people of different ethnic origins including some hill tribes
people or highlanders.
Known for their nomadic lifestyle, the highlanders normally desert their
settlement for richer land after they have inflicted damage to the soil as a
result of their slash-and-burn farming method. Wherever they move, forested land
would be felled for farming. It is this pattern of farming that has been
responsible for the deteriorating condition of the surrounding forest.
In 1994, the Small House in the Forest Baan Lek Nai Paa Yai Project was
initiated by Her Majesty the Queen with the aim of reclaiming the deforested
land and making valuable watersheds, the source of small brooks, available to
landless people who, thanks to the Project, have access to established farming
land without having to move from place to place and, in the process, destroying
the quality of the surrounding land. To enable people to play a participatory
role in the land conservation efforts, a supplementary training programme has
been designed, in response to market demands, to improve the villagers’ customs
and traditions are preserved and will feature as potential tourism attractions
in the future.
The Project is entrusted to the care of a Working Committee led by Army
Commander of the Third Region, Lieutenant General Thanom Vatcharabuthi. Other
committee members include Kamphaeng Phet Governor Siva Saengmanee, Kamphaeng
Phet Forestry Chief, Head of Kamphaeng Phet Irrigation Project, all of whom were
appointed by the Chairperson of the Working Committee. Colonel Thanongsakdi
Apirakyothin serves as its Director.
In the programme to reclaim the land and promote vocational opportunities, the
head of each family will be involved in reforestation and guarding the wooded
areas in his spare time. While the women are engaged in embroidery to be
supplied to the SUPPORT Project, men are further encouraged to spend their time
working on silverware, carving and weaving.
According to the Project, settlements are only founded along the rim of the
wooded areas to achieve harmony with the surrounding environment. The settlers
contribute by planting trees to cover an area of some 780 acres of land per
year. It was predicted that by the end of 1996, villagers’ annual income were
raised to Baht 35,000 per person. Meanwhile, their children are guaranteed
compulsory education and basic health care services.
In addition, Bann Udomsap Rice Bank founded on the Baht 100,000 start-up money
provided by Her Majesty, is directly run by the highlanders with supervision and
advice from the Project Director.
The Project has had a positive impact on the vicinity of the wooded areas
including the Klong Laan National Park and Mae Wong National Park which have now
come under legal protection, where trespassing is prohibited. While
self-reclamation of the land is made possible, the protected status of the two
national parks, the source of Mae Wong, Klong Suan Mark, Klong Wang Chao
watersheds, will ensure the continual flow of water to the Mae Ping River.
In December 1994, as an initial step, 279 highlanders from 53 households of Yao
origin from Baan Paang Nua, Klong Laan district, were settled in the Project
site. Beung Lom of Baan Klong Nam Lai subdistrict, Klong Larn district has been
targeted as the next site for some 213 households in the Project expansion plan.
Her Majesty is kept abreast of the progress from reports prepared by the
Committee in charge of the Project at half-yearly intervals. On her annual
visit, she not only spends ample time inspecting the vocational progress of the
settlers, but results of the reforestation program from the Army Commander of
the Third Region, the Governor and related personnel are also reported on this
occasion.
Such trips are not always smooth and pleasant. The unpredictable weather means
that she can sometimes be stranded in the jungle in the middle of her visit. In
May 1996, a storm suddenly hit the area while she was working inside her
hill-top tent. But such natural inconveniences never deter Her Majesty who
continued working until the sky was clear again, when she left the project site
for her residence before dusk.
On the occasion of her birthday anniversary this month, we humbly offer Her
Majesty the Queen best wishes for many happy returns of the day.
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Birds in natural habitats
A project from the Queen’s concern
Her Majesty the Queen has always taken a keen interest in the
complex relationship that exists among living organisms in Nature and her
awareness of the ecosystem has led to initiation and implementation of a number
of environment conservation and wildlife protection projects when she
accompanied His Majesty the King to visit the people in different regions of the
kingdom.
Her Majesty has been concerned about the fact that several animal species are
being destroyed and that animal off-spring are often taken away from their
parents and their habitats, to be kept in captivity. This has led to her
resolution to fine fertile land in different parts of the country to be used as
open zoos where animals can live freely in natural surroundings.
To this end, Her Majesty the Queen has dedicated herself to hard work, doing
everything possible to find solutions for problems involving wildlife.
Determined to conserve animal species, whenever the villagers present to her as
gifts, wild animals or ornaments made of animal’s organs, she tells them that
she would rather see these animals alive.
With her dedication and with support from the public, together with technical
advice from experts, wildlife conservation projects have been implemented in
different parts of the country.
Bird Sanctuaries is another project under the royal initiation. At present two
aviaries have been established, one at the Bangsai SUPPORT Center in Ayutthaya
Province and the other at Khao Kheow in Chonburi Province. At these aviaries, an
emphasis is given on natural settings where birds are raised properly and
propagated.
The aviaries also serve as resource centers where information on rare species of
birds that are near extinction can be obtained. More over, the lovely
ornithological creatures there have also become an inspiration for men to love
and care for Nature enough to want to take care of natural resources and leave
them as legacies to their posterity.
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Her Majesty the Queen
Glory of the Land... Boon to the Reign
From the time His Majesty the King returned to Thailand in
1950 with M.R. Sirikit Kitiyakara by his side as his fiancee, to the day of the
royal wedding when she became the Queen of Thailand, Her Majesty has since been
the cherished Queen of her subjects and the source of their strength and hope.
She has been the devoted consort of His Majesty the King and the pride of the
Chakri Dynasty.
The sight of Their Majesties standing side by side at their royal residence, at
state functions, and during their trips to visit the Thai people in different
parts of the Kingdom, is heart warming for the Thai people. After the miserable
days of World War Two, the great loss of their beloved late king, and the
departure of the new King who had to continue his education abroad, the return
of their Majesties the King and Queen was like sacred water that soothed the
soul of every Thai. With their presence, the Thai people were grateful and
considered themselves fortunate to have their Head of State back, together with
his Queen who is blessed with beauty and grace.
But more than that, Their Majesties have since dedicated themselves to hard
work, with the benefit and the happiness of the people as their ultimate goals.
They have assisted all the suffering underprivileged poor in every part of the
Kingdom who lack access to opportunities and have no one to turn to.
There is no place that is too far away or too difficult to travel to. For the
past four decades, Their Majesties the King and Queen have dutifully served as
their people’s advisors.
Whenever there is a disaster, regardless of where it happens, Their Majesties
are always there to alleviate the hardships, and do so without any
discrimination. Their assistance has always been on a continuous basis, to
enable those affected by the misfortunes to become self-reliant again.
Their visits to different parts of the country to get to know the people during
the early period of their reign has created a bond that binds them with their
subjects. Their Majesties have a very close relationship with villagers in every
region of the Kingdom. They have listened to them about their hardships in
making a living. His Majesty has never overlooked a single problem faced by the
people and has always looked for ways to address these problems. Her Majesty, on
the other hand, has always responded to the King’s plans and directions and is
committed to hard work for the benefits of the people.
Their Majesties, together with other members of the Royal Family, have
selflessly devoted themselves to carrying out the great burden of helping their
people, and through this, they have won the heart of every Thai.
This week, the land echoes praises for her Majesty the Queen on the auspicious
occasion of her birthday.
Functions fit for a beloved Queen
This year has witnessed on a grand scale the deep affection the Thai people have
for their Queen. Since the start of the year, different functions and activities
have been held in honour of Her Majesty’s birthday.
Looking in the best of health, Her Majesty has been endeavouring to attend as
many functions as she can to show her appreciation of the people’s tributes.
Thais have been gratified to see the Queen at the functions, following her
absence from the limelight for a long while. As beautiful and as graceful as
ever, she has served as a source of pride for her people.
Always radiant and wearing evening gowns or elegant dresses, Her Majesty’s
presence at the functions specially held for her has brought life and vigor to
society. The functions are mostly fund-raising events that will go a long way to
benefit the poor all over the country.
This year will go down in Thai history as a year of great joy and a show of
gratitude to the Queen, who has done so much for her people.
Long Live Her Majesty the Queen!
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