A year-long mourning period following the death of Queen Sirikit, the mother of Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn, has been announced by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. It comes just days after the royal's body was placed in lying-in-state at the Grand Palace's Dusit Throne Hall in Bangkok on Sunday.
The Prime Minister has instructed all government offices, state enterprises and educational institutions to lower the national flag to half-mast for 30 days, and while the Thai royal family and civil servants will observe a one-year mourning period, members of the public have also been encouraged to wear black or dark clothing for 90 days as a mark of respect.
Bloomberg reports that retailers across Thailand are struggling to keep up with demand for black outfits following Queen Sirikit's death. The government has also asked entertainment venues to reduce or postpone its events, as appropriate, for 30 days.
The Queen Mother died aged 93 at the King Chulalongkorn Hospital last Friday after complications from a blood infection, having first been hospitalised on 17 October. Queen Sirikit suffered from "several illnesses" in the latter years of her life and hadn't been seen in public for almost a decade.
She married King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950 a week before his coronation. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any Thai monarch and the third-longest of any sovereign state, with only Queen Elizabeth II and King Louis XIV of France pipping him to the post. Bhumibol died on 26 October 2017 and is buried in the Royal Crematorium at Sanam Luang in Bangkok.
Queen Sirikit is survived by her son, King Vajiralongkorn, and her three daughters, Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Princess Chulabhorn. Thailand has a constitutional monarchy and also continues to observe strict lese-majeste laws forbidding insult of the monarchy.