สำนักงานราชบัณทิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume IV - 2012 11  Pornsan Watanangura 1. Introduction In the History of Thailand, there are only two Queen Regents: Queen Savabha Pongsri, during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, who acted as Queen Regent during His Majesty’s fi rst European tour in 1897. Queen Sirikit, acted as Queen Regent during His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s monkhood in 1956. The appointment of the two queens, indicates not only the con fi dence of the Kings in the abilities of Their Majesties, but it is also evidence of the new role Thai women would begin to play during these periods in history. The con fl icts in the world at that time, made it possible and essential that Queen Sirikit accompanied King Bhumibol when going abroad. The appearance of Her Majesty with King Rama IX of Thailand, as the youngest Royal monarchs in the world, on two state visits in 1960 and 1962, proved to be a new and signi fi cant opportunity for a small country in Southeast Asia, after the World War II crisis, to launch itself again positively, on the World Stage. Similar to the first visit to Europe of King Chulalongkorn in 1897, the prevailing conditions after World War II, during the ‘Cold War’ made the State Visits of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit in 1960 and 1962, not only advisable but unavoidable. Both state visits took place in a period of world political crisis, namely, during the age of colonization in the 19 th century and the confrontation between two political ideologies during the ‘Cold War’ after World War II in the 20 th century. Through the royal state visits, which were very important for the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Siam, the Siamese monarchs gained tremendous acknowledgement from Europe and from every country visited. The royal tours set the stage for a new era in Siamese-European and Thai-Western relations in many respects and strengthened already existing ties between the Siamese court and some of the leading countries of Asia, Europe and America, Australia and New Zealand. King Bhumibol with Her Majesty Queen Sirikit succeeded in changing the way in which the West viewed Siam, its monarchy and its people. Siam was no longer just the name of an exotic, faraway land in a fairy tale - it was a real place.