New Queen’s Birthday Designated as Public Holiday

Queen Suthida and His Majesty the King in a wedding ceremony in footage released by the palace on May 1, 2019.

BANGKOK — The government on Tuesday declared Her Majesty Queen Suthida’s birthday a national holiday.

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The new holiday, which falls on June 3, is effectively immediately, an official told the media. Queen Suthida recently married King Vajiralongkorn on May 1.

The government has yet to decide whether the birthday of the previous reigning queen, August 12, will remain a public holiday. As the wife of the late King Bhumibol, former queen Sirikit was reassigned the royal title of Queen Dowager on May 5.

Little is known about Thailand’s new Queen, though media reports say Suthida has been serving in the Ratchawanlop Guards, a unit of bodyguards protecting the then-Crown Prince, since 2013. The palace has not yet released an official biography of Her Majesty.

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