Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha dies after three-year coma
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the eldest daughter of King Vajiralongkorn, passed away at Chulalongkorn Hospital following a coma that began in December 2022.
Thailand’s royal household announced that Princess Bajrakitiyabha died on Friday at 19:48 local time (12:48 GMT) in Chulalongkorn Hospital. The princess had fallen into a coma in December 2022 after collapsing while walking her dogs, with doctors linking the incident to a severe irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection in her heart. > "The medical team provided the closest and most intensive care possible, but her condition continued to decline progressively," the palace statement said.
Bajrakitiyabha held two postgraduate law degrees from Cornell University and served briefly at Thailand’s mission to the United Nations in New York before returning to work in the Attorney-General’s offices. She was Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014 and later became the UNODC’s Ambassador for the Rule of Law in Southeast Asia, focusing on penal reform and the rights of vulnerable women prisoners.
Her public profile and the king’s confidence in her had led to speculation about the royal succession, as King Vajiralongkorn has not formally named an heir. Thai custom traditionally favors a male successor, though a 1974 constitutional amendment permits a female monarch. The king’s fifth son, Dipangkorn, is currently regarded as the presumptive heir.
