Thailand’s Queen Suthida, officially Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, has made history by flying a Swedish Gripen fighter jet solo — becoming the first reigning queen in the world to pull off the high-speed feat.

Reports from Thailand say the royal, 48, took the controls of a single-seat JAS-39C Gripen at Wing 7 in Surat Thani province on October 8, in the wake of a period of intensive theoretical and practical training with the Royal Thai Air Force.

And watching proudly from the sidelines was King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who presented his wife with flowers and a special gold-embroidered Gripen badge to mark the milestone after she landed.

Queen Suthida is no novice in the cockpit, having clocked up more than 1,188 hours in the air over the past few years.

Her flying experience includes the typical starter aircraft of Cessna, Pilatus and Piper aircraft, as well as slightly larger Boeing 737 passenger jets. She is known to have flown alongside the King on domestic and overseas royal duties.

The Queen began her pilot training in 2010 and had already flown a two-seat version of the Gripen – presumably alongside another pilot – before taking on the single-seat fighter alone.

Her latest achievement now puts her in rare company among royals — and marks a striking moment for Thailand’s air force in particular.

Sources say the country currently operates 11 Gripen fighters, alongside American-made F-16s and F-5s. Thailand has also selected the newer Gripen E/F to replace ageing aircraft, with plans to acquire 12 new jets by 2034.

The Gripen, made primarily in Sweden by Saab AB, is a high-performance multirole fighter designed for air-to-air combat, ground attacks and reconnaissance.

But for Queen Suthida, the latest flight was about more than military hardware and showing she was just as good as her husband in terms of flying aircraft: it was a landmark solo sortie that has now made aviation history.