Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who supervised royal projects to help the rural poor, preserve traditional craft-making and protect the environment, died on Friday. She was 93.
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The Royal Household Bureau said she died in a hospital in Bangkok. Since October 17, she had been suffering from a blood infection but despite her medical team’s efforts, her conditions did not improve.
She had been largely absent from public life in recent years due to declining health. Her husband, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in October 2016.
Photos released by the palace for her 88th birthday showed her son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and other royals visiting the queen mother at Chulalongkorn Hospital, where she was receiving long-term care.
Although overshadowed by her late husband and her son, Sirikit was beloved and influential in her own right. Her portrait was displayed in homes, offices and public spaces across Thailand and her August 12 birthday was celebrated as Mother’s Day.
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Her activities ranged from helping Cambodian refugees to saving some of the country’s once lush forests from destruction.