4 facts about Thai Queen Suthida, who stole spotlight at SEA Games 33

1. Key figure in Thailand’s sailing team

Queen Suthida took part in the keelboat SSL47 sailing event at the SEA Games as a navigator for Thailand’s national team. According to Khaosod English, the team won its first two races in the classification round and topped the standings after the opening day at Ocean Marina Pattaya in Chonburi Province on Dec. 15.

The SSL47 is a high-performance racing yacht stretching more than 47 feet (14 meters), requiring strong technical skills, physical endurance, and close coordination to manage changing wind and sea conditions.

She had trained intensively with the national sailing team from mid-November at Ocean Marina Resort in Pattaya and completed electronic navigation courses for racing yachts earlier in 2024, Matichon reported.

Thailand’s Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana ahead of the SEA Games 33 sailing event at Ocean Marina Pattaya on Dec. 15, 2025. Photo from Instagram/@thairoyalfamily

Her sailing experience also includes competing in the 52 Super Series Sailing Week in Mallorca, Spain, in 2024, where she handled wind analysis during several stages of the race, according to Nation Thailand. In 2023, she participated in Thailand’s 35th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta aboard an IRC Zero class vessel.

Beyond sailing, Queen Suthida is active in other sports. In October 2024, she became the first Global Ambassador for Women’s Ice Hockey appointed by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Later that year, she joined Thailand’s national women’s ice hockey team in a friendly match against China that ended in a 6–6 draw.

She is also a long-distance runner and competed in the 10 km event at the Amazing Thailand Bangkok Marathon in December 2024, running alongside Kenyan marathon legend and two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge.

2. Fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn

Queen Suthida became King Vajiralongkorn’s fourth wife in May 2019. The monarch was previously married to Soamsawali Kitiyakara (1977–1993), Sujarinee Vivacharawongse (1994–1996), and Srirasmi Suwadee (2001–2014), all of which ended in divorce, according to the South China Morning Post.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn (L) and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana. Photo from Instagram/thairoyalfamily

3. From flight attendant to royal bodyguard

Before joining royal service, Suthida earned a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Assumption University in Bangkok, according to Thailand’s Public Relations Department.

She worked as a flight attendant for Japan Airlines from 2000 to 2003 and later for Thai Airways International from 2003 to 2008. In 2013, she joined the Ratchawanlop Guards and served in the special officer unit of the Crown Prince’s Bodyguard Regiment.

Her military career advanced rapidly. By August 2015, she had risen to the rank of lieutenant general, and in 2016 she was promoted to general in the Royal Thai Army. In 2017, she was appointed Deputy Chief Aide-de-Camp to the King and later became Deputy Commander of the Royal Security Command, holding the rank of special general.

Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana. Photo from Instagram/thairoyalfamily

4. A surprise royal wedding

Just days before his coronation, King Maha Vajiralongkorn unexpectedly announced his marriage to the deputy head of his personal guard, granting her the title of Queen Suthida. The announcement appeared in the Royal Gazette, and footage of the wedding ceremony was later shown during the Royal News broadcast on Thai television.

State media aired images of the ceremony, showing Suthida kneeling before the king to present flowers and joss sticks before receiving traditional royal gifts. Although foreign media and royal watchers had long speculated about their relationship, the palace had never officially confirmed it. By October 2016, the pair had begun appearing together in public on occasion.