Srirasmi Suwadee ( th, ศรีรัศมิ์ สุวะดี; ; born 9 December 1971), formerly Princess Srirasmi, Royal Consort to the Crown Prince of Thailand, is a former member of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term p ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. She was the third

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

of then-

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

Maha Vajiralongkorn (now Rama X) from February 2001 to December 2014.

Early life

Srirasmi Suwadee was born in Samut Songkhram Province to a family of modest means. She was the third of four children born to Apiruj and Wanthanee Suwadee, and has Mon descent from her mother's side. She attended Bangkok Business College and in 1993, at age 22, entered the service of Vajiralongkorn as a "

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom ...

." Srirasmi enrolled in Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University in 1997 and graduated in 2002 with a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in management science. Vajiralongkorn personally bestowed her with her diploma. In 2007, she received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree in Family and Child Development from

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์; ), commonly known and referred to as Kaset or KU, is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. I ...

Marriage and family

Srirasmi married the Crown Prince of Thailand on 10 February 2001 in a private ceremony at the prince's Nonthaburi Palace. The public was informed of the event some time afterwards. The prince, who had married twice before and has children with his previous wives, stated it was his intention to settle down: "I am now 50 years old and think I should have a complete family." After the wedding, Srirasmi was styled

Mom ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

Srirasmi Mahidol na Ayudhya (Mahidol is the surname of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; ( Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Grea ...

and King

Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...

, and the na Ayudhya designation signifies non-titled descendants of the

Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

and their spouses). On 14 February 2005, it was announced that Srirasmi was pregnant. On 29 April 2005, a son named

Dipangkorn Rasmijoti Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti Sirivibulyarajakumar (born 29 April 2005; th , ทีปังกรรัศมีโชติ; ; ) is a member of the country's Chakri dynasty and heir presumptive to the throne of Thailand. He is the fifth son an ...

was born via caesarean section at

Siriraj Hospital Siriraj Hospital ( th, โรงพยาบาลศิริราช; ) is the oldest and largest hospital in Thailand. It is in Bangkok on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite Thammasat University's Tha Phrachan campus. It is the ...

. Because of the birth, she was granted by

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

the title "Princess of Thailand" and styled "Her Royal Highness" as the royal consort of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. A royal ceremony, called "Phra Ratchaphithi Somphot Duean Lae Khuen Phra U," to celebrate the first month of the baby was held on 17 June 2005 at the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok. Srirasmi initiated and launched the "Sai Yai Rak Chak Mae Su Luk" (Love and care from mother to children) campaign which promoted breast feeding. The campaign features images of her son. Srirasmi came to wider public attention in 2009, when she appeared in a leaked video feeding a birthday cake to her husband's dog

Fufu Fufu (or fufuo, foofoo, foufou ) is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, th ...

while only wearing a G-string.

Divorce and loss of title

A letter asking for Srirasmi's family to be stripped of their royal name was sent to the

interior ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in November 2014. The letter was sent by her husband, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, after allegations of corruption against seven of her relatives. On 11 December 2014, the ''

Royal Thai Government Gazette The ''Royal Thai Government Gazette'' (, ), frequently abbreviated to ''Government Gazette'' (GG) or ''Royal Gazette'' (RG), is the public journal and newspaper of record of Thailand. Laws passed by the government generally come into force aft ...

'' announced that Srirasmi relinquished her royal title, presumably due to the corruption affairs that involved her family. Srirasmi was granted a payment of 200 million

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-most ...

(US$6 million) by Maha Vajiralongkorn in exchange for her relinquishment. The money was paid out of the

Crown Property Bureau The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) ( th, สำนักงานทรัพย์สินพระมหากษัตริย์; ) is legally the administrative agency responsible for managing the property of the King of Thailand. It has no ...

, as confirmed by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and ...

. After Srirasmi's divorce, her parents, father Apiruj Suwadee and mother Wanthanee, were arrested for

Lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

. The two later admitted to misusing their royal connection 12 years prior, which led to a former neighbor being jailed on bogus fraud charges. Both were sentenced to five years in prison, which was reduced to two and a half years.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Suwadee, Srirasmi 1971 births Living people Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee Princesses by marriage Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee Thai female Phra Ong Chao Srirasmi Suwadee Srirasmi Suwadee 21st-century Chakri dynasty