Ministry demands apology over Cambodian claim to Thai historical photograph

Cambodian beauty pageant claimed Thai women in old photo were wearing Khmer clothing

PUBLISHED : 21 Sep 2026 at 14:02

The Thai Ministry of Culture has sent a letter demanding an apology from Miss Universe Cambodia over its misuse of a historical Thai photograph, believing it was done intentionally to cause misunderstanding about the picture's origin.

Culture Minister Sabeeda Thaised announced the move on Monday during a media briefing at the National Library of Thailand in Bangkok.

She said that during the preliminary round of Miss Universe Cambodia on Friday, images of women dressed in traditional attire were displayed on a stage screen, along with a description saying they were wearing traditional Khmer clothing.

The description was disputed by the Thai people and historians, who said one of the images displayed by the Cambodian organiser was an old photograph of women from Kamphaeng Phet province during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam.

“The ministry is of the opinion it was not a mistake, and that the video tape's creator intended to claim and convince the public that the attire was genuinely Cambodian,” Ms Sabeeda said. (continues below)

The disputed photograph displayed on the screen at the Miss Universe Cambodia pageant on Sept 18. (screenshot)

The photograph was from a collection of glass plate negatives taken in 1906 and preserved at the Phra Vajirayana Royal Library. The collection was inscribed on Unesco’s Memory of the World International Register in 2017.

The minister said the original photograph contained a watermark, but the Cambodian organiser appeared to have cropped it out.

The ministry had sent a warning letter to Miss Universe Cambodia. If the Cambodian organiser does not correct it, Thailand reserved the right to pursue legal action, Ms Sabeeda said.

Thai Culture Minister Sabeeda Thaised. (Bangkok Post file photo)