On 18 June 2015, General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Veera Rojpojanarat, Minister of Culture, and Mrs. Kobkarn Vattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, attended the Royal Khon Performance to commemorate the 60th Birthday Anniversary of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at the Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom.
         The Royal Khon Performance was part of a project by the Royal Thai Government to host various activities to celebrate the 60th Birthday Anniversary of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, both in Thailand and other countries. The event was part of a Thai Festival, under the theme of “Totally Thai”, which is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Tourism and Sports, to honor Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and promote Thai culture in the United Kingdom. The project consisted of 3 main cultural activities, namely, the Royal Khon Performance on 18 July 2015, Thai Film Festival at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) from 25 – 27 July 2015, and the Contemporary Thai Arts Exhibition at the Saatchi Arts Gallery from 17 November until 16 December 2015.
         Moreover, the Royal Khon Performance also commemorates the 160th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and United Kingdom, as well as the 130th Anniversary of the performance by the troupe of 19 Thai musicians at the Royal Albert Hall at the invitation of the United Kingdom. The musician also performed for Queen Victoria at the Osborne House, which proved to be an important occasion to promote Thai culture and helped promote cordial relations between the two nations.
         The Thai Festival in the United Kingdom is an important occasion to celebrate the 60th Birthday Anniversary of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and her royal highness intention to promote Thai Arts and Culture in the United Kingdom, as well as to utilize cultural diplomacy to promote people to people exchange and strengthen relations between Thailand and the United Kingdom. The Royal Thai Government has consistently promoted the use of cultural diplomacy through various events, such as the cultural performance in Beijing in April, the Thai Festival in Tokyo in May. The Royal Thai Government also planned to hold another Royal Khon Performance in New York, United States, and cultural performance in Bad Homburg, Germany, in July and August respectively.
         On this occasion, The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also chaired the meeting of Head of Offices in London, United Kingdom, at the Royal Thai Embassy in London. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs exchanged views with representatives from various Thai agencies on ways and means to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness and to promote collaboration between each agency to further enhance the relations between the two countries in all areas, namely political-security, economy, and socio-cultural issues.