Royal Thai Visit to Sweden in 1960
Royal Thai Visit to
Sweden in 1960 Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit of Thailand visited Sweden 50 years ago in September 1960. The visit was of great importance to the relationship between Sweden and Thailand.
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n 2010 it is exactly half a century ago since the current reigning Majesties of Thailand, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, visited Sweden. Back in September 1960, the Royal Thai couple went to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Sweden had not been visited by a Thai royalty for almost 50 years before Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit paid this visit. The visit was an important milestone in the modern history of relations between Thailand and Sweden. Later, Swedish representatives visited Thailand on numerous occasions, and it made the bonds between the nations even closer and warmer. Following the visit, Thailand in 1963 appointed an Ambassador of Thailand in Stockholm. Later on, in February 1965, Prince Bertil, representing the King of Sweden, visited the Royal family in Thailand. Sweden’s relationship with Thailand’s Royalty reaches back to 1887 when His Majesty King Chulalongkorn visited Sweden. The next Royal visit was in 1911 when His Royal Highness Crown Prince Chakrabong visited Sweden. The next visit was King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit’s visit in 1960.
Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, at the time not yet acceded to the throne, has since spoken of the huge excitement that surrounded the Thai Royal visit to Swedish and the Swedish people’s warm welcome of the Thai regents. Especially the beauty and elegance of Queen Sirikit, who came from a exotic far away country that not too many people knew anything about at the time gave, became the talk of the town. His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf has also often later referred to the impact of the Royal Thai visit to Sweden in 1960. In his official speech at the State Banquet during His and Her Majesty Queen Silvia’s State Visit to Thailand on 23 February 2003, His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf spoke about the earliest Thai Royal visit to Sweden by King Chulalongkorn in 1897. He continued: “Your Majesties have confirmed the will to continue and strengthen the contacts. You paid an appreciated State Visit to my Grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf in September 1960. The attention You later showed through the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn at His funeral some ten years later was received with big gratefulness by our family.”