Princess Sangwal, Thai King's Mother, 94
The Associated Press
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Princess Sangwal Mahidol, the mother of Thailand's King, died on Tuesday. She was 94.

Known as the Princess Mother, she was popular with Thailand's rural poor for her promotion of health care, visiting remote villages by helicopter until she was in her 80's.

Her best-known effort was the Princess Mother's Flying Doctors Foundation, made up of volunteers who responded to medical emergencies and staffed mobile clinics.

She married Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, the youngest son of King Chulalongkorn. The couple had two daughters and a son, who is now King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch.

Her husband died in 1929, and four years later Thailand was transformed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

A correction was made on

July 27, 1995

:

Because of an editing error, an obituary on July 21 about Princess Sangwal Mahidol, the mother of the King of Thailand, listed her children incorrectly. She had two sons and a daughter, not two daughters and a son.

The article also referred incorrectly to her late husband, Prince Mahidol of Songkhla. He was King Chulalongkorn's youngest son by Queen Sawang -- one of three consorts carrying the title Queen -- but not the youngest son among 76 children fathered by the King.