Regency
When the king undertook a period of service as a Buddhist monk in 1956 (as is customary for all Thai Buddhist males), Queen Sirikit became regent. She performed her duties so satisfactorily that she was made queen regent and given the style of "Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat" by her husband on his birthday, 5 December 1956. Upon this inception, she became the second Siamese queen regent. The first queen regent was Queen Saovabha Bongsri of Siam, who was regent when her husband King Chulalongkorn travelled to Europe, and later became Queen Sri Patcharindra, the queen mother.
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