The World knows that Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit passed away on 24 October 2025. The royal funeral will happen in 2026. The official announcement has declared that the mourning will be 1 year for the government officials and 90 days for Thai people, starting from the 25 October 2025. For tourists, here are 5 things you should know before visiting Thailand during the national mourning period.
- Avoid strong criticism about the Thai royal family
The Thai royal family is always in the heart of Thai people. It is a culture from a very long time ago where the royal family always stays very close and supports the people. Many Thais feel that they are part of their family as well, losing a member in the royal family is similar to losing your own relatives.
As a tourist, you should avoid talking bad or showing strong political opinions on the deceased person of the royal family, especially to Thai people. To avoid conflicts and avoid ruining your blissful journey.
What you should act is just like what you always do when you arrive at the funeral of your relatives or a person. You respect the deceased and show empathy to the living family members. - The Grand Palace and some temples may be temporarily closed.
Since the deceased body will be kept in the Grand Palace, there will be many royal funeral ceremonies happening during this period of time. Many ceremonies are also involved with monks from the royal temples nearby. Some ceremonies have to be done at the temple, some are done inside the Grand Palace. There will also be a period of time when the royal palace opens for the public to go inside and pay respect to the deceased one as well, but not for the touristic purpose. Therefore, if you plan to visit The Grand Palace and temples around Ko Rattanakosin area, please make sure it is still open for tourists during the time you want to visit. - Some entertainment events may get cancelled.
As the official announcement from the Thai government, the events should be suspended for the first 30 days or considered to postpone or change format of the event to be more polite. Make sure events you want to join are still running before you arrive. - Dress in black or dark color.
It is not mandatory for the tourist but if you want to pass the Grand Palace or the area nearby such as Sanam Luang where the royal crematorium is located, you should consider wearing a black shirt or black tee. If you don’t have any, the dark color attire will be fine as well. - Thai media and advertisements dimmed down the colour.
Don’t get confused if you see advertisements in the public, news from Thai media websites on your mobile or screens at your hotel are dimmed down the color or displayed in black and white. It is not that you become color blinded once you arrive in Thailand all of the sudden, but this is the guidelines of media broadcasting during the national mourning period.
