In a rare interview given to a BBC reporter by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, for the BBC film Soul of a Nation in 1981, His Majesty spoke about his duty as the Thai King:

I don’t know what can be defined as “King,” that is the trouble, because in my position, I am called a King. But my duty is you have noticed not the duty of a King. It is something that is quite different or difficult to define. I do things I think will be useful and that is all. If you asked me what I had in mind, what plan I had, I had no plan. Just like I am today, we are going to have something and we are going to do it. We don’t know what the something is, but we are going to do something that is good. That is the plan or the spirit.

Anywhere we go we are looked at and people are interested in us. They look at us, they don’t want to bother us. They want to know more how they eat, how they sit, how they walk. They don’t look with curiosity or hostility, because they are very happy. You must know that they are well-wishing and they are on intimate terms with us. It’s like a big family. These people are looking at us because they like us and we like them. We love them, they love us, so there is no pressure.

 
 
 
 
 
His Majesty’s on-site inspections include close consultation of his own special maps, which he always has at hand
  

Right after their fairy-tale wedding, the installation of the queen, and the glorious coronation ceremony, the young royal couple started to familiarize themselves with their subjects. The first royal visit to the people was made at a small village in Hua Hin district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, in May of 1953. Seeing how people in remote areas suffered with health problems, His Majesty personally sponsored a mobile medical unit to take care of them.

In 1954, Their Majesties the King and Queen visited victims of a disastrous fire in Ratchaburi province. The year after, they visited Suphan Buri province, sometimes traveling by boat to allow villagers living on the waterways to have a glimpse of their King and Queen. In 1955, they visited every province in the northeastern region. It was the first time ever for a king of the Rattanakosin period to have visited the region. In 1958, the royal couple traveled to the North, followed by the South in the following year.

Four royal children added to the joy and happiness of the nation: Princess Ubol Ratana, born on 5 April 1951, in Lausanne, Switzerland; Prince Vajiralongkorn, later installed as His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, born on 28 July 1952, in Bangkok, Thailand; Princess Sirindhon, later installed as Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, born on 2 April 1955, in Bangkok; and Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, born on 4 July 1957, also in Bangkok.

Having visited all regions of the country, Their Majesties the King and Queen embarked on state visits to friendly countries, starting with Vietnam, Indonesia, and Burma in 1959. In the next year, they traveled to the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, the Vatican State, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain.

In 1962, the royal couple visited Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia, followed by Japan, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and the Philippines in 1963, and in 1964, to Austria, Iran, Canada, and once again to the United States.

Thailand was put on the world map with the state visits of the young King and Queen, who were both diplomats of the first order. They left lasting impressions every place they went, with the goodwill and friendship that have been the hallmark of Thailand ever since.

Furthermore, reciprocal state and official visits were made by heads of state and government leaders all through the decades, particularly on special occasions such as the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration, 1982; His Majesty the King’s Fifth Cycle or 60th Birthday Anniversary, 1987, also declared the first Visit Thailand Year; and most recently, the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty’s Accession to the Throne, 2006.

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties visit local villagers at the town hall in Uthai Thani
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties proceed by boat along the Mekong River to Nong Khai province on 9 November 1955
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties the King and Queen during a visit to a rural area
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties visiting villagers in the early years of the present reign
  

 
 
 
 
   

 
 
 
 
   

 
 
 
 
   

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand, during a state visit to the United Kingdom in 1960, pictured with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties the King and Queen on a visit to Indonesia
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties greeting the people of Bonn during a visit to Germany in 1960
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties on a visit to Spain in 1960
  

Until recent years, Their Majesties the King and Queen spent eight months each year visiting people in all parts of the country. They devised ways to help them to become self-sufficient. Through royal initiatives, more than 3,000 projects were launched in various parts of the country, covering the development of water resources and irrigation, the development of watershed areas and the livelihood of hill tribes, and the conservation of natural resources. The main objectives of the projects have always been to create employment and generate income, raise education standards, and improve the people’s quality of life.

As His Majesty the King also told the BBC reporter, who asked if he was winning against communist insurgents,

Oh, I don’t know, but we are winning against hunger, this is what we are doing; we are not fighting against people, we are fighting against hunger. We want them to have a better life; if we do this and they have a better life, the people whom you call communist insurgents will have a better life, also. So everybody is happy.

Always at his side on all his upcountry visits, Her Majesty the Queen has been inspired and encouraged by His Majesty to take care of farm families, with particular concern about their members’ health and education, as well as their households’ income-generating activities. Her Majesty the Queen discovered that women in many rural areas were highly skilled in weaving, a technical know-how that had been passed down through generations. She donated her personal funds to encourage the craft of weaving as a cottage industry to help women to earn extra income, using local raw materials. This led to a whole series of artistic and attractive handicrafts that triggered broad market demand with their beauty and intricacy. Donations started pouring in, and in 1976, the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, SUPPORT, was established. Soon, SUPPORT Foundation members were turning to handicrafts as their main source of income.

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties visiting rural villagers
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties the King and Queen during a visit to Trang province
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties the King and Queen during a visit to Chumphon province
  

 
 
 
 
 
Their Majesties, accompanied by Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, inspect areas set aside for the cultivation of apples and other temperate climate fruit trees at the Royal Project’s Ang Khang Agricultural Research Station, Chiang Mai province
  

 
 
 
 
 
His Majesty in the midst of his subjects
  

SUPPORT products are available not only through the 12 existing Chitralada Shops, but also at Abhisek Dusit Royal Hall, Dusit Palace, which is open to the public every day. Her Majesty the Queen has also exhibited these products in the United States, Japan, France, and Russia.

The Government, in 2004, established the SUPPORT Arts and Crafts International Center on an area adjacent to the Bang Sai Arts and Crafts Training Center on the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-In, in honor of Her Majesty the Queen on her 72nd birthday anniversary that year. The center aims for excellence in the management, production, and marketing of Thai handicrafts. Its goal is to be the key actor in the development of the network of cooperation in production and marketing efforts, so as to propel Thai arts and products to local and international recognition.

In the prophetic words of His Royal Highness Prince Rangsit of Jainad, when he offered felicitations on the day of the royal wedding ceremony, “Your Majesty, as the divine strength of the Royal House of Chakri, has chosen a worthy mate to share the sufferings and joys of life, as well as the burdens of the future.”

Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand have indeed dedicated themselves to the “benefits and happiness” of their subjects. They, in turn, are more than a ruling monarch and his queen, but are together “The Soul of the Thai Nation.”