The Thai Royal Household announced the passing of Queen Mother Sirikit at the age of 93.

Sirikit had been absent from public life since suffering a stroke in 2012, according to Reuters.

Born in 1932—the same year Thailand transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one—Sirikit Kitiyakara was the daughter of Thailand’s ambassador to France and lived a privileged and distinguished life.

While studying music and languages in Paris, she met King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who had spent part of his childhood in Switzerland. The couple spent time together in Paris, became engaged in 1949, and married in Thailand a year later when Sirikit was just 17 years old.