Thai king’s eldest daughter dies after long illness, Royal Palace says

BANGKOK – Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died at the age of 47, the royal palace announced on Friday. The princess had suffered from multiple health problems and spent nearly four years in a coma.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha was hospitalized in December 2022 after a sudden loss of consciousness caused by a heart condition while visiting Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand. She was airlifted by helicopter to Bangkok for treatment.

She passed away on Thursday evening as her condition worsened due to an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and blood clotting disorders, according to a palace statement.

Known affectionately as Princess Pa, she was born on December 7, 1978, to then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali.

In Thailand, Princess Bajrakitiyabha will be remembered for her prominent role in public life, her dedication to improving the welfare of female prisoners, and her diplomatic career.

She earned a law degree, a Master’s, and a Doctorate from Cornell University and worked as an attorney at the Thai Office of the Attorney-General from 2006 to 2011.

From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, Slovenia, and Slovakia before returning to the attorney-general’s office in Bangkok. She also founded a charity advocating for the rights of female inmates, including those who were pregnant while in prison.

In 2017, the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice appointed her as a goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in Southeast Asia.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha joined the army in 2021, receiving the rank of general and serving as chief of staff in the Royal Security Command. She was one of King Vajiralongkorn’s three children with formal titles eligible for the throne under the constitution.

Last October, Thailand’s Queen Mother passed away at the age of 93.

The royal palace will conduct funeral rites, and the government is expected to declare a period of national mourning.

-Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Panarat Thepgumpanat, and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by John Mair and David Stanway/Reuters