Thailand Mourns Queen Sirikit: Nation Honors "Mother of Thailand" With Year-Long Royal Funeral Ceremony

Thailand's beloved Queen Sirikit, widely known as the "Mother of the Nation," passed away at age 93, prompting nationwide mourning.

Thousands of grieving Thai citizens gathered along Bangkok's streets on Sunday to pay their respects during a solemn procession transporting the former queen's body to the Grand Palace, where it will lie in state for a year-long funeral ceremony.

Royal family members in Thailand are deeply venerated, with many citizens viewing them as semi-divine figures. Their images, adorned in gold, hang prominently throughout public spaces and private homes across the country.

Queen Sirikit, mother of current King Vajiralongkorn and wife of Thailand's longest-reigning monarch, died on Friday after years of health complications.

Her body was transported in an ambulance from Chulalongkorn Hospital through a 10-kilometer procession to the Grand Palace, accompanied by motorcycle escorts. Along the route, crowds of nurses and citizens bowed respectfully, many holding portraits of the queen or weeping as police officers knelt in salute.

"I want to send her off for the last time, on her last journey, as one of her children -- as a Thai who loves and respects her," 56-year-old Boontham Kornwaen shared with AFP outside the hospital.

Following Thai royal tradition, the former queen's body will remain at the Grand Palace for one year before cremation.

Black and white tributes to the royal matriarch appeared across the country on billboards, television screens in public spaces, and even banking applications. Television presenters wore black attire, media websites adopted monochrome displays, and citizens were requested to dress in subdued colors and limit celebratory events for 90 days.

Tanaburdee Srimuang, 24, maintained a vigil outside the Grand Palace since the announcement of Queen Sirikit's death early Saturday. "I am not tired," he told AFP. "I am happy to be here for her for the last time."

Approximately half of the people in central Bangkok were observed wearing traditional Thai mourning colors of black or white.

Even as K-pop group Blackpink proceeded with their sold-out performances at Bangkok's 50,000-seat Rajamangala National Stadium, attendees were requested to wear black clothing as a mark of respect.

During her 66-year marriage to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Queen Sirikit established herself as both a fashion icon and the nation's maternal figure, drawing comparisons from Western media to former US First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul briefly delayed his departure to Malaysia for an ASEAN leaders summit to honor the queen before attending the signing of a peace agreement with Cambodia, witnessed by US President Donald Trump.

"I send my condolences to the Great People of Thailand," Trump posted on social media while traveling to Malaysia for the Sunday ceremony.

Queen Sirikit's husband ruled Thailand from 1946 until 2016, a reign spanning from World War II to Trump's first election victory. Though King Vajiralongkorn assumed the throne approximately nine years ago, many Thais continue to revere King Bhumibol as the nation's steadfast figurehead and Queen Sirikit as his devoted companion.

In recent years, the queen had withdrawn from public life, her privacy protected by strict lese majeste laws that restrict reporting on the royal family. According to palace statements, she had "suffered several illnesses" while hospitalized since 2019, including a recent blood infection.

During her glamorous prime in the 1960s, Queen Sirikit socialized with American presidents and celebrities like Elvis Presley. In Thailand, she was affectionately called the "Mother of the Nation," and her birthday was designated as the country's Mother's Day.