Thailand’s Queen Visits Pasadena

Hundreds of members of Los Angeles’ Thai community converged Sunday afternoon on Pasadena 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 people that many items in the collection represent her work with King Bhumibol to revive traditional Thai handicrafts. Their sale also can provide an alternative source of income for poverty-stricken farmers who otherwise may 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, who found that the exhibit also provided an opportunity to greet Thai friends he had not seen for some time.

Tara, who has been in the United States for 20 years, said he had never seen priceless Thai antiquities before and was disappointed that his grown children were not interested enough in Thai culture to go to the exhibit with him.

“Queen Sirikit is trying to raise them from a very young age in Thailand to know and appreciate the ancient skills and preserve them through the generations. I’m glad this is happening,� he said.

Although the public was not allowed to attend the queen’s speech, a large crowd waited patiently for more than half an hour to greet her when she arrived. Several small children presented her with bouquets of flowers before she disappeared into the auditorium.

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, but not before the queen conferred on Armstrong the royal decoration Ratanaporn II Class. The queen’s lady-in-waiting said it is rarely given to anyone outside of the royal Thai family.

Aides said Armstrong has visited with the Thai king and queen numerous times and has donated funds from the Ambassador Foundation to assist with vocational and agricultural projects in Thailand. The foundation is the educational and cultural arm of the Worldwide Church of God.