Early life Norodom Monineath was born on 18 June 1936, in
Saigon,
French Indochina, in present-day
Vietnam. She was born
Paule-Monique Izzi, and is sometimes referred to as
Queen Monique. Her father, Jean-François Izzi, was a French banker of
Corsican, French and
Italian descent, who was Director of
Crédit Foncier in
Saigon, and killed in
World War II (he was a close friend of King
Norodom Suramarit). Her mother, Pomme Peang, was from
Phnom Penh (and was previously the third wife of Prince
Norodom Duong Chakr). Norodom Monineath studied at the Primary School Norodom College,
Sisowath High School, and the
Lycée René Descartes. She met Norodom Sihanouk in 1951, when he awarded her first prize in a beauty pageant. They lived together from 12 April 1952, and married on 5 March 1955 at
Khemerin Palace, as the "secondary consort" (Sihanouk married his official wife, Norodom Thavet Norleak, on 4 March 1955, before being married to Monineath). She has been described as the close confidant of Sihanouk.
1955–1970 In 1955, Princess Monique's husband abdicated in favor of his father, but continued to rule the country as premier. In 1960, he became head of state again, but known as premier and with the title prince. Princess Monique served as president of the
Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) in 1967–1970. Princess Monique, as she was called during this period, was exposed to some criticism from the Khmer Republic for her life during the reign of Sihanouk in the 1960s. The propaganda of the
Khmer Republic was later to accuse her of having caused the strained relationship between Sihanouk and his mother, the popular queen mother
Sisowath Kossamak, and for being the cause to why her spouse prevented his mother from succeeding to the throne in 1960. In 1973, Norodom Sihanouk allied himself with the Khmer Rouge against their common enemy,
Lon Nol. The royal couple also made a visit to Khmer Rouge territory in Cambodia before returning to China.
Later life Norodom Monineath spent the following years with her husband as state guests of China and North Korea. She is credited to have played some part in the peace negotiations arranged between Sihanouk and
Hun Sen by
Tong Siv Eng in 1987 and 1988, and she is known to have been present during the negotiations. Monineath speaks
Khmer,
French, and
English. She is currently the Cambodian Red Cross Honorary President. In 2010 she was nominated for
Time Person of the Year by
Documentation Center of Cambodia Director
Youk Chhang who praised the Queen Mother as an "embodiment of resilience, dignity and courage." ==Children==