Sawt Falasteen - Thailand's former queen Sirikit dies aged 93

The royal family is venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide.

"It a great loss to the nation," said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Saturday, adding that he would delay his departure to a weekend summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Malaysia.

Throughout her 66-year marriage to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Sirikit carved a dual reputation as a fashionista and the nation's caring matriarch -- with some Western media featuring her on magazine covers and comparing her to former US first lady Jackie Kennedy.

"I had heard that she had been unwell and, given that she was in her 90s, I knew this day would come," 53-year-old housekeeper Sasis Putthasit said early Saturday in the capital Bangkok.

"But I didn't expect it to be today," Sasis told AFP. "I feel sad because she was a mother figure to the country, and now she's gone."

Sirikit had "suffered several illnesses" while hospitalised since 2019, including a blood infection this month, the palace said in a statement.

"Her majesty's condition worsened until Friday and she passed away... at Chulalongkorn hospital at age 93," it added.

King Vajiralongkorn has assigned members of the royal family to begin a year-long mourning period, the palace said.

From early Saturday, Thai news anchors were seen wearing black during broadcasts, a sign of public mourning.

Her passing "marks a profoundly significant event for the Thai Royal Family and the entire nation, given her immense popularity and deep connection to the late king who remains deeply revered", Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a former Thai diplomat and academic who studies the monarchy, told AFP.

- 'Mother of the Nation' -

King Bhumibol Adulyadej's lengthy reign from 1946 until 2016 was bookended by World War II and the first inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

Though Bhumibol's son inherited the throne about nine years ago, many still revere him as the nation's most steadfast figurehead -- and Sirikit as his constant companion.

She retired from the public eye in recent years as she suffered from ailing health, her privacy sealed by strict lese majeste laws that limit what can be reported about the royal family.

But in her glamorous heyday in the 1960s she mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley, while at home touring Thailand to visit villagers in rural areas.

She was referred to as the "Mother of the Nation" and her birthday was designated the country's Mothers' Day.

Store owner Tanyaporn Arammetha, whose own parents divorced, said she always saw the late king and queen as parental figures.

"(Sirikit) showed me that she cared about Thai people the way parents love their children," she said.

The reigning Chakri dynasty dates back to 1782, but the succession from King Vajiralongkorn is unclear as he has not formally named an heir.

He has seven children including five sons -- four from an earlier marriage who have been officially disowned, and his 20-year-old son Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.

While the royal family is still held in very high regard by most Thais, it faced unprecedented public dissent during street protests in 2020.

Tens of thousands of young protesters took to the streets demanding widespread political reforms including changes to the monarchy -- a public challenge to the royals' status never seen in Thailand before.

Though Thailand's constitution places the monarchy above politics, Sirikit drew public attention when she attended the funeral of a royalist protester in 2008.

When her husband King Bhumibol died, Thailand observed a year-long mourning period.

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.

Frozen food company employee Siraphob Sutthisalakorn said Thailand had "lost two guiding figures" in Queen Sirikit and her husband King Bhumibol.

"They are watching us from heaven," he said.

O.Salim--SF-PST