Thailand’s Ministry of Culture plans to issue a formal protest to the organisers of Miss Universe Cambodia 2026 after a historical Thai photograph appeared in a video presentation about Cambodian dress culture.
In a statement released yesterday, September 21, Culture Minister Sabeeda Thaised said the image shown during the pageant was the photograph known as “Siamese Woman of Kamphaeng Phet”, taken in 1906 during the reign of King Chulalongkorn.
According to the ministry, the National Archives of Thailand holds the photograph as part of the Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collection, which UNESCO inscribed on its Memory of the World International Register in 2017.
The ministry said the original glass-plate negative carries a Fine Arts Department watermark. Still, it alleged that the version used in the Miss Universe Cambodia presentation had the watermark removed and did not provide a source attribution.
Sabeeda said the ministry did not believe the photograph had been used through a simple mistake or lack of awareness. It argued that the presentation was intended to suggest a broader historical claim and lead viewers to believe the clothing depicted was genuinely associated with the Cambodian royal court.
The ministry called on the pageant organisers to stop distributing what it described as misleading information and to ensure historical photographs are properly sourced.
The Fine Arts Department, which is responsible for the relevant archival material, will formally send a letter of protest to the Miss Universe Cambodia organisers.
The ministry said it would consider further action if the disputed material continued to be used, including asking relevant Thai agencies to pursue legal measures.
The statement also outlined the ministry’s recent efforts to promote knowledge of Thai dress overseas.
Exhibitions on Thai National Dress have been held in The Hague in the Netherlands and Tokyo in Japan, with another presentation planned in France. The ministry said the exhibitions also provide information about traditional Thai attire that forms the historical foundation of Thai National Dress.
It has also worked with Thai embassies on cultural events overseas. At the Thailand Grand Festival 2026 in Sydney on September 19 and 20, actress Aff Taksaorn took part in a fashion presentation featuring Thai National Dress.
The ministry also cited an exhibition of Thai antiquities at the National Museum of Korea, where traditional Thai dress formed part of the wider cultural presentation.
Sabeeda said the ministry wanted culture to support mutual understanding rather than create conflict, but would not ignore cases it considered to involve infringement or misuse of Thai cultural heritage.
The ministry said it welcomed neighbouring countries’ interest in Thai National Dress, but asked that any use of historical material include complete and accurate attribution. It also thanked members of the public who had expressed concern over Thai National Dress.
It said any further action would be taken carefully, particularly with the planned inscription of Thai National Dress in December in mind.
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