Thailand's Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died, the royal palace said on Friday. She was 47.
The princess had spent more than three years in a coma after being admitted to hospital in December 2022 following a sudden loss of consciousness caused by a heart condition. She was in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima at the time and was flown by helicopter to the capital, Bangkok, for treatment.
She died on Thursday evening after her condition worsened owing to an abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias and blood clotting disorders, the palace statement said.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, also known as Princess Pa, was born on December 7, 1978, to King Vajiralongkorn, who was Crown Prince at the time, and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha had a prominent role in public life in Thailand, leading efforts to improve the livelihoods of women in prison, and developed a career in diplomacy. She studied law at Cornell University, obtaining a master's degree and a doctorate, and worked as a lawyer in the Thai Office of the Attorney General from 2006 to 2011.
From 2012 to 2014, she was Thailand's ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia, before returning to the attorney general's office in Bangkok. She also founded a charity promoting the rights of women in prison, particularly those who were pregnant while detained.
In 2017, Princess Bajrakitiyabha was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in South-East Asia by the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. She transferred to the army in 2021, where she was bestowed the rank of general and served as chief of staff in the Royal Security Command.
The princess was one of King Vajiralongkorn's three children with formal titles and was eligible to take the throne under the constitution. The palace will hold royal funeral rites, and the government is expected to declare a period of national mourning.
