Thailand's former queen Sirikit dead at 93

​​​​​​​By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Queen Sirikit, the mother of Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn, died Friday in Bangkok. She was 93.

She died at a hospital at 9.21 pm local time (1421GMT), according to the Thai Royal Household Bureau.

It added that a team of doctors that had been monitoring her health since Sept. 7, 2019, found she had multiple illnesses and abnormalities across several systems that required ongoing medical care.

Physicians said Sirikit developed a bloodstream infection Oct. 17, and despite treatment, her condition gradually worsened.

Sirikit was married for more than six decades to Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016.

King Vajiralongkorn has declared a one-year mourning period for the royal family and Royal Court officials, starting from the date of Sirikit’s death.

Sirikit’s birthday is observed as Mother’s Day in Thailand and marked as a national holiday.