Happy Birthday to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who turns 69 today! The accomplished and hardworking Princess Royal who is the most popular member of the Thai Royal Family, Princess Sirindhorn does not wear many jewels, but she did wear Queen Sirikit’s Thai Gold Suite!
This ornate Thai Gold Pendant is of an unknown origin but is likely an heirloom of the Thai Royal Family, first appearing on a newlywed Queen Sirikit for the Coronation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 1950.
During the 1950s, Queen Sirikit wore the ornate Thai Gold Pendant on numerous occasions, usually suspended from a gold necklace, and also worn as a brooch.
For King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit’s Tour of Europe in 1960, the traditional Thai Gold Pendant was set into a larger ornate necklace, being notably worn for the Thai State Visit to Denmark.
Queen Sirikit also wore the Thai Gold Necklace for a State Banquet at the Élysée Palace during the Thai State Visit to France, as well as a Banquet during the Thai State Visit to Luxembourg.
Queen Sirikit continued to wear her grand Thai Gold Necklace upon her return to Thailand, most notably wore for a series of iconic portraits, but the appearances stopped around the mid-1960s.
In the 1970s, the traditional Thai Gold Pendant was worn by Queen Sirikit’s daughter, Princess Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal of Thailand.
Princess Sirindhorn seems to have also worn the Thai Gold Necklace for a Banquet at the Chakri Throne Hall, during the British State Visit to Thailand in 1972, after which the suite has not been publicly worn again!
