It was one of the most captivating and endearing moments of the jubilee celebration of His Majesty the King's 60 years on the throne. Princess Sirindhorn's snap shots of the huge crowd of the loyal subjects, clad in yellow shirts and waving yellow flags, were the historic view from the palace balcony that His Majesty the King was actually seeing.

On that day, while the King was sitting at the palace balcony, the third time during his 60-year reign, Princess Sirindhorn poked her digital camera out from time to time to take the pictures of the scene below, which was nothing short of a sea of yellow.

At one point, Queen Sirikit, who was standing behind the King's back, instructed Princess Sirindhorn to take the pictures.

"The Queen pointed her finger and told Princess Sirindhorn to take the pictures here and there," said Phaothong Thongjua, a well-known Thai artist and academic. He got this account from Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya, His Majesty the King's Deputy Principal Private Secretary.

After a while, His Majesty the King turned to take a critical look at Princess Sirindhorn's busy snapping away. The King said: "Shh … can you take the pictures somewhere else?"

The Thai people gathering around the Royal Plaza were glad to see another memorable moment of the beloved Princess Sirindhorn.

According to Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya, His Majesty's Deputy Principal Private Secretary, the Princess told her that while she was leaning out of the window of Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall to take some good pictures, she heard somebody shouting up for her to take a precaution. Apparently, the people were also afraid that the Princess might fall off the palace balcony, Thanphuying Putrie said.

Still, Princess Sirindhorn managed to take enough shots to produce a volume of collection of the jubilee celebration. On that memorable day, the King gave blessing to the Thai people, who in turn had a chance to meet him in person and to express their absolute loyalty, love and deep respect toward him.

Yesterday, Princess Sirindhorn held a solo exhibition at the Conrad Hotel of 14 photographs taken by her digital camera on the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall on June 9. The exhibition is open to public between June 24 and July 2.

Among the photos on display was a snap shot of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn giving a speech on behalf of Royal Family and other descendants of the Chakri Dynasty. There are also pictures of the people and students sitting on the pavements and waving the national flags and flags carrying the Royal Emblem. These pictures were taken while the Princess was riding on the royal limousine.

There are also the Princess's photographic collection of about 90 pictures, taken at the Srapatum Palace, other parts in Thailand and other countries.

The assorted photographs exemplify people, animals, items and handicrafts, places, views and most importantly, everything that relates to her work for the country.

HRH Princess enjoys taking photographs, some pictures show her sense of humour, said Thanphuying Putrie. "The Princess has selected the photographs and written the captions by herself," she said.

Kupluthai Pungkanon

The Nation