BANGKOK, Thailand – All three branches of the Royal Thai Armed Forces fired 63-round Royal Salutes on Tuesday (Aug 12) to honor Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother, on her birthday anniversary. The coordinated ceremonies took place at key military sites in Bangkok, continuing a long-standing national tradition of paying tribute to the monarchy.
At Sanam Luang, the Royal Thai Army’s 1st Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, King’s Guard, used four Type 80 light guns, 75 mm caliber, firing in sequence to the rhythm of the Royal Anthem. Each round was fired at five-second intervals from right to left, with the salute lasting one minute and forty seconds.
The Royal Thai Air Force conducted its salute at the Air Force Aviation Park, led by the Air Defense Regiment of the Air Force Security Force Command. The Royal Thai Navy held its ceremony at Wichai Prasit Fort in Bangkok Yai district, performed by the 1st Infantry Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the Royal Thai Marine Corps.
The Navy’s location carries historic ties to the practice, which dates back to the Ayutthaya period during the reign of King Narai the Great, when foreign ships sought permission to honor Siam with gun salutes. Formal regulations were later issued during the reigns of King Chulalongkorn and King Vajiravudh, and the modern protocol, reinstated after World War II, assigns 21 rounds for royal birthdays, coronations, and visits by foreign heads of state.
These salutes preserve a centuries-old tradition that links modern military ceremonies to Thailand’s enduring customs of royal tribute. (NNT)
