New queen is stealing the people’s heart
Now this is a real Cinderella story. Suthida Vajiralongkorn has risen from being a stewardess to a soldier and now a queen.
BANGKOK: Kneeling in front of her King, Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya was invested as Queen in Bangkok’s Grand Palace, taking up a prominent role in a country where the monarchy is deeply revered, a fairytale ascent for the former flight attendant.
Wearing a pink traditional dress, Suthida took her seat next to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in the throne hall after he poured a few drops of sacred water on her forehead and handed over insignia according her status as queen.
The newest member of the royal family is the fourth wife of 66-yearold Vajiralongkorn.
His coronation yesterday came just three days after a stunning palace announcement that the pair had married.
But not much is known about his long-time consort-turned-queen.
Broad biographical details such as her work as a flight attendant and her education at an upper-crust institution have emerged in Thai media. But the palace has so far declined requests for more information.
Born on June 3, 1978, she graduated with a Communication Arts degree in 2000 from the Catholicrun Assumption University of Thailand.
She then worked as a flight attendant for national carrier Thai Airways.
According to a local media report she met the future king, a keen aviator with a pilot’s licence, when he flew the company’s aircraft during a charity event in 2007.
In November 2013, Suthida entered the royal army before becoming part of the monarch’s prestigious security detail less than a year later.
She was promoted to the rank of general in December 2016 two months after the death of revered former King Bhumibol Adulyadej as Vajiralongkorn took to the throne.
Less than a year later, in 2017, she was made deputy commander of the king’s Royal Guard, often seen shadowing the monarch at public events.
The king’s marriage to Suthida is a “way of further legitimising” his reign, said Paul Chambers, political analyst at Thailand’s Naresuan University.
“A king is supposed to have a queen and now he has one.” — AFP