"The Prince has been breast-fed. He has been healthy and has enjoyed excellent development," said Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla.

He hailed the two-year-old Prince and his mother, HRH Princess Srirasmi, the Royal Consort of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, as models for the practice of breast-feeding.

To celebrate the young Prince's birthday, all state hospitals under the Public Health Ministry's supervision will present every baby born tomorrow with a gift bag containing breast-feeding aids such as specially cut blouses, storage containers for expressed breast milk, books and useful toys.

All state hospitals will also hold exhibitions in honour of the prince and provide free check-ups for children from today till Tuesday, Mongkol said.

He said breast milk was the best food for babies and toddlers, as breast-fed children were much less likely to fall ill or develop allergies.

Citing research findings, the public health minister said children fed with formula milk were 20 times more at risk of getting inflammatory bowel disease than breast-fed children.

Mongkol said research in Denmark also showed that the intelligence quotient of babies that were breast-fed for nine months averaged 104, while babies breast-fed for less than a month had an average IQ of 99.4.