by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020
Queen Suthida of Thailand; Credit – By Tris_T7 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79159558
Queen Suthida of Thailand is the fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne of the Kingdom of Thailand in 2016 after the 70-year reign of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The first three marriages of King Maha Vajiralongkorn all ended in divorce. Born Suthida Tidjai on June 3, 1978, in Hat Yai, Thailand, she is the daughter of Kham Tidjai and Jangheang Tidjai. She graduated from Hatyaiwittayalai School, a secondary school in Hat Yai, Thailand. Suthida then attended Assumption University, a private Catholic university with four campuses in Thailand, graduating in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts.
Suthida was a flight attendant for JALways Airlines, now part of Japan Airlines, and then for Thai Airways. She met her future husband, then Crown Prince of Thailand, in 2013, and joined the palace guard later that year. She was promoted to deputy commander of the Crown Prince’s bodyguard unit in 2014. Suthida was linked romantically to the Crown Prince following his divorce from his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee in 2014. In October 2016, international media reports labeled Suthida as the designated King’s Consort, despite the palace never officially declaring their relationship. On December 1, 2016, Suthida was appointed Commander of the Special Operations Unit of the King’s Guard and promoted to the rank of General in the Royal Thai Army.
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Marriage Ceremony
On May 1, 2019, just days before his coronation, King Vajiralongkorn surprisingly married Suthida at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, a mansion on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. During the ceremony, broadcast on Thai television, Suthida prostrated herself on the ground before the King while offering him incense and flowers, according to royal tradition. The King appointed her Queen and granted her royal powers in front of a gathering of senior politicians and members of the Thai royal family.
Suthida prostrating herself before the King; Credit – https://www.tellerreport.com/
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Works Cited
- En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suthida> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
- Global News. 2019. Flight Attendant, General, Royal: Meet Thailand’s New Queen. [online] Available at: <https://globalnews.ca/news/5230848/queen-suthida-thailand/> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
- Los Angeles Times. 2019. King Vajiralongkorn Of Thailand Marries His Bodyguard, Now Queen Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-thai-king-bodyguard-queen-20190502-story.html> [Accessed 4 September 2020].