Kingdom celebrates as Queen Mother Monineath turns 83

Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk turned 83 on Tuesday, with ministries, institutions and establishments across the Kingdom decorated with flowers and banners to wish her a happy and prosperous birthday.

The senior leadership of the country’s top institutions sent their wishes to the Queen Mother celebrating her strict adherence to the four immeasurables of Buddhism – loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity.

The Queen Mother is known for her charitable work, most notably her support for the humanitarian work of the Cambodian Red Cross, an organisation for which she served as president from 1967-1970 and is currently honorary president.

She has also served as the honorary president of the Cambodian National Council for Women, which seeks to promote the role of women in Buddhism, the education sector, social work and wider Cambodian society.

The Queen Mother was born Paule-Monique Izzi in Saigon, French Indochina in 1936 to Jean-Francois Izzi, a French banker of Corsican, French and Italian descent, and Pomme Peang, a Phnom Penh native.

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