Parliament Speaker Hosts Forum on Monarchy and National Loyalty

Parliament Speaker Sopon Saramyuth presided over a seminar on July 27, 2026, at parliament to promote national awareness and loyalty to the monarchy, with Buddhist prayers and merit-making offerings for the King's health and prosperity. The event, titled "The Monarchy Institution and Thai Society," was held to demonstrate gratitude and reverence for the monarch, emphasizing that the monarchy institution is irreplaceable and invaluable to the nation. Sopon recalled a childhood experience his grandmother shared about traveling over 15 kilometers by cart to greet the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit in Lamphlayamaj District, Buriram Province, illustrating the loyalty of Thai citizens willing to travel far to pay respects to the royal family. In 2015, during the King's birthday observance on December 5, Sopon participated in a flower offering ceremony in Lamphlayamaj District alongside residents dressed in formal attire, which he described as a moving reflection of public devotion to the monarchy. He established a "Good Deeds Club for the Father of the Nation" to promote the philosophy of sufficiency economy and jointly planted 100,000 trees with local government without using state budget, dedicating the effort as merit-making for the King. The reforested area in Lamphlayamaj District now serves as an important natural resource conservation zone and a tribute to the monarchy, aligning with the late King's conservation legacy and engaging communities in sustainable forest preservation. Sopon pledged to continue promoting civic awareness, particularly among youth, to honor the nation that ancestors protected and to follow the late King's footsteps in conserving and developing the country's natural resources for future generations. The event concluded with participants engaging in Buddhist meditation and prayer practices under the principles of charity, moral conduct, and mindfulness, with all merit dedicated to the King's health and longevity on the occasion of his birthday on July 28, 2026.