Queen Sirikit (; ; ); born Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara (; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wife of Bhumibol Adulyadej (or King Rama IX) and is the mother of the current King Vajiralongkorn (or King Rama X). She met Bhumibol in Paris, where her father was Thai ambassador. They married in 1950, shortly before Bhumibol's coronation. Sirikit was appointed queen regent in 1956, when the king entered the Buddhist monkhood for a period of time. Sirikit has one son and three daughters with the king. Consort of the monarch who was the world's longest-reigning head of state, she was also the world's longest-serving queen consort. Sirikit suffered a stroke on 21 July 2012 and has since refrained from public appearances. Early life and family Sirikit was born on 12 August 1932, at the home of Lord Vongsanuprabhand, her maternal grandfather. She is the eldest daughter and the third child of Prince Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara, the son of Prince Kitiyakara Voralaksana, and Mom Luang Bua Snidvongs (1909–1999). Her name, which was given by Queen Rambai Barni, means "the greatness of Kitiyakara". She had three siblings, two elder brothers and a younger sister: Mom Rajawongse Kalyanakit Kitiyakara, M.D. (20 September 1929 – 15 May 1987) Mom Rajawongse Adulakit Kitiyakara (2 November 1930 – 5 May 2004) Mom Rajawongse Busba Kitiyakara (born 2 August 1934) Sirikit was raised by her maternal grandparents for a year after her birth, since her father was in the United States to work as the secretary of the Siamese Embassy at Washington, D.C. Her mother joined her husband three months later. When she was one year old, her parents returned to Thailand. Sirikit lived together with her family in Deves Palace, near the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok. As a child, Sirikit often visited her paternal grandmother. Once in 1933, she travelled with Princess Absornsaman Devakula following King Prajadhipok's tour in Songkhla. Education At age four, Sirikit attended the Kindergarten College at Rajini School (sometimes called the Queen's College), where she studied at the primary level. During that time the Pacific War was being fought. Bangkok was bombed many times, especially the rail lines, making travel unsafe. She therefore moved to Saint Francis Xavier Convent School, since it was near the palace. She studied at Saint Francis Xavier from her second primary year through the early secondary