Thailand Mourns: Princess Bajrakitiyabha Passes Away at 47 After Three-Year Coma
Thailand Mourns: Princess Bajrakitiyabha Passes Away at 47 After Three-Year Coma
Bangkok, June 12 : Thailand is in mourning following the death of Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who passed away on Thursday evening at the age of 47. The Bureau of the Royal Household confirmed that the princess died at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, where she had remained unconscious for more than three years.
Affectionately known among Thais as Princess Bha, she collapsed suddenly in December 2022 while taking part in a military dog training event in Nakhon Ratchasima province. She was airlifted to Bangkok, and the palace later attributed her condition to a heart problem complicated by a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial illness commonly linked to pneumonia. Despite continuous medical care, including support for her heart, lungs and kidneys, she never regained consciousness.
Born on December 7, 1978, to then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Soamsawali, Bajrakitiyabha was the only child of the King's first marriage. She built a distinguished career far beyond royal ceremony. After studying law at Thammasat University, she earned her degree from Cornell University in the United States, served at the Thai Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, and later worked as a provincial attorney general. Between 2012 and 2014, she represented Thailand as its ambassador to Austria.
Her most celebrated legacy lies in justice reform. Her Kamlangjai or Inspire project worked to rehabilitate imprisoned Thai women and prepare them for life after release. Her advocacy also led the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Bangkok Rules in 2010, a landmark framework for the treatment of female prisoners worldwide. In 2017, she was named a goodwill ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Her death carries significant implications for Thailand's royal succession. Though succession rules traditionally favour male heirs, her record of public service had fuelled speculation that she might one day play a central role in the monarchy's future. The presumptive heir is now her 21-year-old half-brother, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the youngest of the King's seven children.
On Friday morning, grieving citizens gathered outside the Bangkok hospital where she spent her final years, many holding her portrait and weeping. For millions of Thais, Princess Bha was that rare royal figure who felt close to the people — a princess remembered not for palace grandeur, but for fighting for those society had forgotten.
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