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Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, or Princess Sirindhorn, was born on 2 April 1955. She is the third child of Their Majesties King Bhumibhol and Queen Sirikit, who are admired worldwide as monarchs devoted to their people. She was bestowed with the title of “Siam Crown Princess” in 1977. She studied at Chitralada School in Bangkok through her schooling age and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, first class honor, gold medal in History from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. She later obtained a M.A. in Oriental Epigraphy (Sanskrit and Cambodian) from Silpakorn University, and a M.A. in Pali and Sanskrit from Chulalongkorn University. She was then awarded a doctoral degree in Development Education from Srinakharinwirot University.

Accompanying Their Majesties the King and Queen to remote and rural areas since she was 16, the Princess began her missions to develop several aspects of her people’s lives, including their living condition, education for Thai youth in remote areas, relief for victims from natural disaster and occupations for the disadvantaged. HRH also supports various foundations and charitable works. Her outstanding role on public health was to organize 30 tons of aid dispatched for the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma as of 2008.

Princess Sirindhorn acted as the Master of Ceremony for the 2005 the annual Prince Mahidol awards ceremony, which the King directly presides over. The annual awards, named in honor of the King's father, are presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of medicine or public health. At one point in the conversation, the King stopped and gestured towards Princess Sirindhorn, who was engaged in a side conversation with the wife of the German award winner. The King quietly said, "I have four children. But she (Sirindhorn) is the only one who 'sits on the ground with the people.' She never married, but she has millions of children."

The King's comment about Princess Sirindhorn said as much about the failings of the King's other three children as his fondness and respect for Princess Sirindhorn. The other three had tried to carryout their royal responsibilities, but clearly were not as capable or interested as Princess Sirindhorn. The separation and divorce of Princess Ubolratana and Peter Jensen had been quite nasty. Princess Chulabhorn split from Group Captain Veerayudh Didyasarin, but Royal relations with Veerayudh, the former Thai Assistant Air Attache at the Embassy in Washington, are cordial.

The Crown Princess is the Royal Patron and President of many organizations and foundations that aim to help the underprivileged or to promote and improve people’s living quality and conditions. She is the Deputy President of the Thai Red Cross, the humanitarian organization that helps patients and victims of disasters, and the President of Sai Jai Thai (Thai Compassion) Foundation and the Foundation for Disabled Soldiers. In addition, she is the Executive Chairperson of Chai Pattana Foundation, as well as managing the King’s projects. She is also involved in the Ananda Mahidol Foundation to promote higher education, and the Prince Mahidol Award for excellence in the medical and public health fields, to mention only a few.

While Princess Sirindhorn has helped to popularize Chinese culture in Thailand, she has also been a good friend of the United States. In 2001 she founded the U.S.-Thai Education Roundtable, which met regularly through 2005. The Thai Fulbright Commission will honor her with an award in July, 2010, for her role in promoting Thai-U.S. academic exchange. She periodically cooperates with the Embassy to hold seminars for her students at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.

Princess Sirindhorn, the second most beloved Thai royal, has made a reported twenty-eight trips to China between 1981 and 2010 - including three in 2009 - in an effort to foster closer social and educational ties between the two nations. A Chinese domestic web-based popularity contest celebrating the 60th anniversary of the PRC in 2009 picked Sirindhorn as the second most important of "China's top ten international friends."

The work Princess Sirindhorn had undertaken to enhance Thai-China bilateral relations is more than symbolic. Princess Sirindhorn worked with the Chinese to establish the Princess Sirindhorn Institute, which focuses on joint research in biotechnology, alternative energy, and alternative Chinese medicine and hosts both Thai and Chinese students. Princess Sirindhorn, a fluent Mandarin speaker, also encourages Thai students to study in China and to learn Chinese. The Chinese have also built a special residential compound outside Beijing for Sirindhorn. Those close to Sirindhorn have suggested that she is likely to leave Thailand and take up permanent residence in China after the eventual death of King Bhumibol, so as to leave the Thai stage to her brother Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.