Sirindhorn

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (มหาจักรีสิรินธร, ; ; born 2 April 1955), formerly Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda Kitivadhanadulsobhak (สมเด็จพระเจ้าลูกเธอ เจ้าฟ้าสิรินธรเทพรัตนสุดา กิติวัฒนาดุลโสภาคย์; ), is the second daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thais commonly refer to her as "Phra Thep" (พระเทพ), meaning "princess angel". Her title in Thai is the female equivalent of the title once held by her brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The Thai constitution was altered in 1974 to allow for female succession, thus making her eligible for the throne.

Having been the eldest female child of the royal family (excluding Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, who married a foreign commoner), her position is comparable to a princess royal.

Birth
Sirindhorn was born on 2 April 1955 at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, Dusit Palace. The third child of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. As the royal couple has only one son, the Thai constitution was altered in 1974 to allow for female succession. This made Sirindhorn second-in-line to the throne (after Vajiralongkorn) until the birth of Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978.

In December 2012, Sirindhorn was briefly hospitalised to remove calcium deposits.

Early education
Sirindhorn attended Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary at Thailand's most exclusive school: The Chitralada School which was established for the children of the Royal Family and Palace staff.

She ranked first in the National School Examinations in primary level (grade 7) in 1967, in upper secondary level (grade 12) in 1972, and fourth in the National University Entrance Examination in 1975.

Higher education
In 1975 she enrolled in the faculty of arts at Chulalongkorn University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, first-class honours and a gold medal in history in 1976.

From 1976 she continued her studies in two graduate programs concurrently, obtaining a Master of Arts in Oriental epigraphy (Sanskrit and Cambodian) in 1980 and also archaeology from Silpakorn University and in 1980. From October 1977, she studied Sanskrit in Bangkok for two years under the tutelage of renowned Sanskrit scholar Satya Vrat Shastri. In 1978, she obtained a Master of Arts in Pali and Sanskrit from Chulalongkorn University.

In 1981 she enrolled in a doctoral program at Srinakharinwirot University, and was awarded a PhD in developmental education in 1987.

In 1984 she earned a certificate from the Asian Regional Remote Sensing Training Centre at the Asian Institute of Technology where she studied for two months.

In April 2001 she won a scholarship in Chinese culture at Peking University in China where she studied the course for a month.

Works and interests
Aside from her passion for technology, she holds degrees in history and a doctorate in educational development. She teaches at the history department of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, where she is the nominal head of the department. In addition to Thai, she speaks fluent English, French and Mandarin Chinese, and is currently studying German and Latin. She translates Chinese literature into Thai.

She is also a skilled performer and avid promoter of Thai traditional music.

Like her father Bhumibol Adulyadej, Princess Sirindhorn holds radio amateur with the call sign HS1D.

Scholarship
The University of Liverpool introduced a prestigious new scholarship in honour of Sirindhorn. One full scholarship will be awarded annually to enable a Thai student to study at Liverpool to complete a one-year taught Masters programme. The scholarship is open to all subjects in which a one-year taught Masters programme is offered; however, priority will be given to those students who wish to study in a subject area associated with Princess Sirindhorn such as science, information technology, medicine, the arts, geography, history, and languages. To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be a Thai national and already hold an offer to study a one-year taught Masters programme at the University of Liverpool.

Titles, styles, honours and awards




Titles

 * 2 April 1955 – 5 December 1977: Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda
 * 5 December 1977 - present: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
 * 5 December 1977 – 5 May 2019: Somdech Phra Debaratanarajasuda Chao Fa Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Rathasimagunakarapiyajati Sayam Boromrajakumari
 * 5 May 2019 – present: Somdech Phra Kanishthadhiraj Chao Krom Somdech Phra Debaratanarajasuda Chao Fa Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Maha Vajiralongkorn Vararajabhakti Sirikicakarini Biryabadhana Rathasimagunakarapiyajati Sayam Boromrajakumari

Style
The Princess' style and title in full as of 5 May 2019: Her Royal Highness Princess Somdech Phra Kanishthadhirajachao Krom Somdech Phra Debaratanarajasuda Chao Fa Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Maha Vajiralongkorn Vararajabhakti Sirikijakarini Biryabadhana Rathasimagunakarapiyajati Siam Boromrajakumari of Thailand.

Military rank

 * General, Admiral and Air Chief Marshal

Volunteer Defense Corps of Thailand rank

 * Volunteer Defense Corps General

Academic rank

 * Professor of Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy
 * Professor of Srinakharinwirot University

National honours

 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon with Chain of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon with Chain of the Order of the Nine Gems
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon with Chain of the Order of Chula Chom Klao, Special Class
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the White Elephant
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Member of the Royal Decoration King Bhumibol Adulyadej
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Member of the Royal Decoration King Vajiralongkorn
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rajaruchi Royal Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Freemen Safeguarding Medal, First Class
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Dushdi Mala Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Border Service Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Chakra Mala Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Boy Scout Citation Medal, First Class
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Red Cross Medal of Appreciation, First Class
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej Silver Jubilee Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn Investiture Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Bicentennial Medal of the Rattanakosin Kingdom
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of Queen Sirikit
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 84th Birthday Medal of Princess Mother Srinagarindra
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 60th Birthday Medal of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Longest Reign Commemorative Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 60th Birthday Medal of Queen Sirikit
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej Golden Jubilee Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 6th Cycle Birthday Medal of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 72nd Birthday Medal of Queen Sirikit
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej Diamond Jubilee Medal
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 7th Cycle Birthday Medal of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the 60th Birthday Medal of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal on the Occasion of the Coronation of H.M. King Rama X

Foreign honours

 * 🇦🇹 Austria: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (เครื่องอิสริยาภรณ์กิติคุณแห่งสาธารณรัฐออสเตรีย)
 * Brunei: Knight Grand Cross of the Most Esteemed Family Order of Brunei
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog
 * 🇫🇷 France: Commander of Order of Academic Palms, 1st Class
 * 🇩🇪 Germany: Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
 * 🇮🇳 India: Padma Bhushan
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
 * 🇰🇵 North Korea: Grand Officer Order of the National Flag, 1st Class
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea: Grand Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit, 1st Class
 * Laos: Recipient of the National Gold Medal
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
 * 🇲🇳 Mongolia: Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
 * Nepalese Royal Family: Member of the Royal Order of Ojaswi Rajanya
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Recipient of the King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal
 * 🇵🇰 Pakistan: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crescent of Pakistan
 * 🇪🇸 Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Member Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Seraphim
 * 🇹🇴 Tonga: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Crown of Tonga
 * 🇹🇴 Tonga: Recipient of the King George Tupou V Coronation Medal
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
 * 🇨🇳 China: Recipient of the Medal of Friendship

Awards

 * 🇦🇹 Austria: International Union of Nutritional Sciences Award
 * 🇨🇳 China: Chinese Language and Culture Friendship Award
 * 🇨🇳 Chinese Literature Foundation of Chinese Writers Association: Understanding and Friendship International Literature Award
 * 🇮🇳 India: Indira Gandhi Prize
 * 🇮🇳 India: Padma Bhushan award for 2017
 * 🇮🇳 India: World Sanskrit Award
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service
 * 🇺🇸 University of Pennsylvania: International Education Leadership Award

Honorary degrees

 * National
 * Chulalongkorn University: Veterinary medicine
 * Srinakharinwirot University: Pharmacy
 * Thammasat University: Chinese Studies of Humane Letters
 * Thammasat University: Environmental Science
 * Thammasat University: Technology
 * 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai University: Geography
 * 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai University: Thai language
 * 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai University: Botany
 * 🇹🇭 Asian Institute of Technology: Technology
 * 🇹🇭 Burapha University: Public Health
 * 🇹🇭 Burapha University: Information Technology
 * 🇹🇭 Burapha University: Chinese language
 * 🇹🇭 Suranaree University of Technology: Physics
 * 🇹🇭 Khon Kaen University: Agriculture
 * 🇹🇭 Prince of Songkla University: Agriculture
 * 🇹🇭 Ubon Ratchathani University: Geography


 * Foreign
 * 🇨🇳 China:
 * 🇭🇰 Hong Kong - The University of Hong Kong: Doctor of Letters
 * Peking University: Chinese language
 * 🇯🇵 Japan - Tokai University: Engineering
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines - University of the Philippines Los Baños: Law
 * 🇺🇸 United States:
 * California - Pomona College: Doctor of Humane Letters
 * Indiana - Indiana University Bloomington: Doctor of Humane Letters
 * Illinois - Northern Illinois University: Doctor of Humane Letters
 * Maryland - Johns Hopkins University: Doctor of Humane Letters
 * Massachusetts - Bay Path University: Doctor of Humane Letters

Honorary titles

 * 🇨🇳 China: People’s Friendship Ambassador
 * 🇺🇳 United Nations: Special Ambassador of the World Food Programme for School Feeding
 * UNESCO: UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for "Empowerment of Minority Children through Education and through the Preservation of Their Intangible Cultural Heritage"

National
A number of academic and research institutions in Thailand are named after her:
 * Princess Sirindhorn's College, Mueang Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Pathom Province.
 * Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
 * Mahachakri Sirindhorn and Boromrajkumari Building, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
 * Somdech Phra Debaratana Medical Center, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok.
 * Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Music Library, Mahidol University, Bangkok
 * Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University, Bangkok.
 * Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok.
 * Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, Hat Yai, Songkhla Province.
 * Sirindhorn Observatory, Chiang Mai University, Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Province.
 * Princess Sirindhorn Neutron Monitor, a Galactic cosmic ray detector at Thailand's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai Province.
 * Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center, Srinakharinwirot University, Onkarak Campus, Nakhon Nayok Province
 * Princess Maha Chakri Award Foundation

Foreign

 * Sirindhorn Technology and Culture Exchange Center, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
 * Mianyang Xianfenglu Sirindhorn Primary School, Mianyang, Sichuan, China.

Places

 * Amphoe Sirindhorn of Ubon Ratchathani Province
 * Sirindhorn Dam stops the Dom Noi River in Sirindhorn, Ubon Ratchathani Province.
 * Sirindhorn Museum (Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Museum), Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Research Center, Sahatsakhan, Kalasin Province.
 * Sirindhorn Observatory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University
 * Princess Sirindhorn Stadium, is a sports stadium in Si Racha, Chonburi Province.

Fauna
Several fauna species are named after her, including:
 * Eurochelidon sirintarae (Princess Sirindhorn bird or white-eyed river martin), a critically endangered swallow first described in 1968.
 * Phricotelphusa sirindhorn (panda crab). It was described in Crustaceana in 1989.
 * Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae, a sauropod herbivore dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period. It was described in 1994.
 * Sirindhorna khoratensis, a hadrosauroid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It was described in 2015.
 * Acanthosquilla sirindhorn (panda mantis shrimp). It was described in Crustaceana in 1995.
 * Tarsius sirindhornae, an ancient primate.
 * Streptocephalus sirindhornae, a freshwater fairy shrimp. It was described in the Journal of Crustacean Biology in 2000.
 * Macrobrachium sirindhorn, a freshwater prawn. It was described in Crustaceana in 2001.
 * Trigona sirindhornae, a bee.
 * Sirindhorn thailandiensis (princess moth).
 * Loxosomatoides sirindhornae, a freshwater kamptozoan. It was described in Hydrobiologia in 2005.

Flora
Numerous plant species have been named after her:
 * Sirindhornia spp., orchids:
 * Sirindhornia pulchella can only be seen in Doi Chiang Dao National Park, blooming from April to June.
 * Sirindhornia mirabilis can only be seen in Doi Hua Mot in Tak Province, blooming during May and June.
 * Sirindhornia monophyla can be seen in Doi Hua Mot in Tak Province from March to June, as well in Myanmar and China.
 * Other plant species include:
 * Bauhinia sirindhorniae (sam sip song pra dong), a vine of the pea family. It was described in the Nordic Journal of Botany in 1997.
 * Magnolia sirindhorniae (Princess Sirindhorn's magnolia)
 * Thepparatia thailandica Phuph. or Khruea thepparat malvaceae. Thepparat is a part of her royal title. It was described in the Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) in 2006.
 * Impatiens sirindhorniae Triboun & Suksathan, 2009. It was described in Gardens' Bulletin Singapore.