THERE are fears for a Thai princess after the royal palace shared a concerning health update following her three-year-long coma battle.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest daughter of King Vajiralongkorn, is said to have developed a severe infection.
Known fondly as Princess Bha, the 46-year-old experienced a collapse in December 2022 during a dog training session in Nakhon Ratchasima, a region northeast of Bangkok.
She has been in a coma ever since.
For the first time in over two years, on Friday, the Bureau of the Royal Household provided an update on her health, revealing that she had experienced a “severe” blood infection.
The palace said in a following update that a team of doctors were closely monitoring her situation.
It read: “The medical team said that she remains in a state of low blood pressure, requiring continuous treatment.
“Doctors are providing medication to maintain her blood pressure stability, along with various medical equipment and antibiotics to aid her kidney function and breathing.”
Over the years, some reports have suggested her health condition is far more serious than the palace is letting on.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was training her dogs at a working dog championship organised by the Thaiarmy when she collapsed.
Paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital before a helicopter took her to Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn health facility.
Bajrakitiyabha is the daughter of the king’s first wife, Princess Soamsawali.
She has been part of her father’s inner circle since he came to the throne in 2016 and is a senior officer in the king’s personal guard.
The fitness enthusiast is widely viewed as the most suitable successor for her father, who turned 70 this year.
She has post-graduate law degrees from two US universities and has long called for prison reforms in Thailand.
She was also the Thai ambassador to Austria between 2012 and 2014.
The 73-year-old king, who has seven children from four marriages, has not announced his chosen heir.
Though succession rules in Thailand favour men.
