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Published on January 14, 2008

The ceremonies shall begin from 5pm on Wednesday, and 10.30am on Thursday.

Since January 10, members of the public have been allowed to pay their respects at the throne hall between 9am and 4pm daily.

As of Saturday, 52,892 mourners were recorded as having visited the hall.

They had donated more than Bt4.8 million to charity works started by the Princess.

On Thursday, mourners may enter the hall from 2pm to 4pm.

The Princess passed away on January 2, aged 84. The country has been in mourning for the loss of the gracious royal member who had made great contributions to the Kingdom.

Thousands of people clad in black gathered at the Grand Palace before dawn yesterday.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn arrived at the throne hall shortly before 7am to donate food to eight monks before leaving.

As large crowds gathered, the hall was opened to the public a little before the scheduled time of 9am.

Many mourners arrived after making overnight journeys from the provinces.

More than 30 ethnic Lahu people arrived from Chiang Mai.  "The Lahu people mourn for the Princess. We are grateful for her in making it possible for us to settle down and secure livelihoods," said Oratai Jator, representing the group.

Also among the mourners were 100 children from Saeng Tien Group Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Phra Nakhon District Office deployed 60 cleaners to keep Sanam Luang and surrounding areas tidy after a mountain of litter had piled up, left behind by large crowds.

The office said the amount of garbage had ballooned fourfold to two tonnes a day.

Meanwhile, people visiting an exhibition to honour Princess Galyani at a compound in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) headquarters, will receive a commemorative book about her.

Suttisan Sivapitak, assistant secretary to Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, said the BMA published 100,000 copies of the book.

He told the public not to buy the book from stalls following reports copies were being sold for between Bt170 and Bt200.

The seller was a frequent visitor to the exhibit who had obtained a number of copies.

"This book is not for sale," Suttisan warned. The BMA has alerted police to arrest people selling the book.

The Nation