The power of love

A book celebrating Her Majesty the Queen's sixth cycle birthday gives readers an insight into her life

The Office of Her Majesty's Private Secretary has published a book offering an intimate insight into Queen Sirikit's life and times to commemorate Her Majesty's sixth cycle birthday next month.

The book, titled "Power of Love" in English and "Duay Palang Haeng Rak" in Thai, gives readers an insider's view of Her Majesty's life - her youth, her marriage to His Majesty the King, her role as the mother of four children and being Queen of Thailand - accompanied by rare photographs.

Queen Sirikit has always been by His Majesty's side during his travels across the country to introduce royal projects to improve the living conditions of rural Thais, and this is seen in many of the photographs in the book. One of the most touching images of the Queen and her people is of Her Majesty touching the hand of a leprosy patient in an advanced stage of the disease who travelled to the spot on a motorcycle and requested to see the Queen and touch her hand.

"Power of Love" brings into one volume the Queen's life, from her childhood to her marriage to the King and her subsequent work for deserving students from underprivileged families, needy patients, the environment, and Thai arts and crafts through the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques (Support Foundation) under her patronage.

The book offers rare, black-and-white pictures of the Queen when she was young, alone and with her family.

King Prajadhipok, or King Rama VII, bestowed her with the name Sirikit, meaning "she who is the glory of Kitiyakara", since she was born into the Kitiyakara family, which traces its roots to King Chulalongkorn.

The photos of the young Sirikit and later the young Queen are of excellent quality. Readers can still see and appreciate her true Siamese beauty, such as in the picture showing the Queen wearing a ngob (farmers' hat) as she happily paddles a boat along a small canal.

There are photographs of the Queen in various types of attire, from contemporary style Thai silk to very simple dress. In one picture, the Queen is wearing a Thai sarong and sleeveless cotton blouse and standing beside the King, who wears a white shirt and trousers.

There are family photos from the period when the Queen devoted her life to raising her children and looking after the family. As HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn said in her book "Somdej Mae Kab Karn Sueksa" (Mother and education), the Queen instilled the reading habit in her from the time she was only seven years old.

The Queen's love for the people is seen in rare photographs of her travelling with the King to different parts of the country to implement royal projects. She is seen walking through heavy rain in one photo and in a small hut in another.

There are also pictures of the Queen mingling with students and patients under royal patronage, and of her activities for the Support Foundation, for the environment and for Thai arts and culture.

Altogether 13,000 copies of the book will be printed - 8,000 of the Thai edition and 5,000 of the English edition. The book will not be put on sale but will be distributed through public libraries and the media.

The Nation