The brief
statement by the Royal Household Bureau said 78-year-old Queen Sirikit, who is
the wife of Thailand's constitutional monarch, was admitted to a Bangkok
hospital on Thursday but did not say when she was expected to check out.
"Her Majesty the Queen had a rapid heartbeat. The doctors therefore asked
her to travel to and stay at Chulalongkorn Hospital on the night of Sept. 30,»
the statement said. The statement said her "heart rate became normal on
the night of Oct. 1," but it was vague about what the treatment was. The
queen's hospitalization was first reported on Friday by the official Royal News
and broadcast on all Thai TV stations. The initial report did not give any
details of the queen's medical condition. The ailing 82-year-old King Bhumibol
Adulyadej visited his wife Friday on a rare trip away from a different Bangkok
hospital where he has spent the past year. An avid photographer, the king held
a camera as aides wheeled him in to see his wife.
