Srinagarindra - Regency

Regency

As Regent, the Princess Mother carried out various official duties on behalf of the King, including acceping diplomatic credentials from newly posted ambassadors, conferring degrees on university graduates, presiding at religious ceremonies and putting her signature to several important legislative acts. She was the third woman Regent of the Rattanakosin era, the first being Queen Saovabha Bongsri during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (later became Queen Sri Bajrindra, the Queen Mother), and Queen Sirikit early on in the present reign. In the capacity, she put her signature to a number of important laws and declarations, including the Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1960, and the first National Economic Development Plan, 1961–1966.

A trip to northern Thailand in 1964 helped change her routine. Not long after the Bhubing Palace on the northern town of Chiang Mai Province was completed, the King invited the Princess Mother for a visit. As was her habit in Switzerland, the Princess Mother went for long treks through the woods behind the palace, enjoying the flora and fauna, and stopping in the little villages en route. It was then that she discovered the poverty of the villages in remote areas. There was a lack of schools and health services or personnel, and even the border patrol police, who acted as guides and also provided security for her on the trips, were very poorly paid, and receive no per diem for services rendered over and above their normal duties. Due to those observations of the precarious economical situation of the rural areas, the Princess Mother began making regular visits to the remotest areas of the kingdom, starting from 1964, despite her age of 64 years. In border areas, she would make it a point to visit each patrol station to lend moral support to the soldiers.

This was also the start of a number of projects to alleviate the problems of poor villages and improve their quality of life. Ranging from education and health care, to environmental preservation, the social welfare projects have over the decades proved to be a unifying force for those in remote areas and have helped upgrade their lives.