Queen Sirikit Welcomed by L.A. Thais

Hundreds of members of Los Angeles’ Thai community converged on Pasadena Sunday afternoon to view a glistening display of royal art objects from Thailand and to catch a glimpse of Queen Sirikit, who is completing a three-city tour of the United States with her art collection.

The queen, who took the exhibit to Ambassador College at the invitation of Worldwide Church of God founder Herbert Armstrong, told an audience of 1,250 that many items in the collection represent her work with King Bhumibol to revive traditional Thai handicrafts. Their sale also can provide alternate income for poverty-stricken farmers who otherwise might raise opium poppies for a living, unaware that it is used in illegal drugs, she said.

The public exhibit included solid gold art objects inlaid with the wings of beetles, delicate silk material laboriously tie-dyed into intricate patterns, and boxes knitted from strands of solid gold and silver. Although many of the items on display were antiques dating back to the 13th Century, most were created in just the last few years by artisans trained in the ancient skills at government-supported schools.

Visitor Impressed

“You never see something like this in your life. You look at the delicate work and you think that no normal person could do something so beautiful,” said Chamras Tara of North Hollywood.

Other Projects

During her speech, the queen described several other projects that the royal family is undertaking to improve water supplies, agricultural skills and vocational skills of inhabitants living in Thailand’s more remote villages.

“If Thailand fails to stand on her own feet, you, the rest of the world, will have more burden on your hands with more refugees. We hope to work to prevent that,” she said.

Her speech officially closed the exhibit’s U.S. tour, which also included Miami and New York City.