Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Dies After Three Years in Coma, Deepens Succession Uncertainty
Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who had been in a coma since December 2022, has died at the age of 47. According to the royal palace, she passed away at Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday evening at 7:48 pm local time.The princess collapsed suddenly while exercising with her dogs in December 2022. Doctors said a mycoplasma infection had…
Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who had been in a coma since December 2022, has died at the age of 47. According to the royal palace, she passed away at Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday evening at 7:48 pm local time.
The princess collapsed suddenly while exercising with her dogs in December 2022. Doctors said a mycoplasma infection had caused severe heart arrhythmia, leading to her coma.
The eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s seven children, she was born on December 7, 1978, and held two advanced law degrees from Cornell University. She served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014 and later advocated for prison reform, particularly the rights of female inmates. In 2021, the king appointed her chief of staff of his personal guard unit.
Widely regarded as a capable and trusted figure, she had been considered a potential candidate for royal succession. Her death has further clouded the question of Thailand’s line of succession, a topic that remains largely off-limits for public debate under the country’s strict lese-majeste laws.
