Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died at the age of 47, the royal palace announced Friday, following a series of health complications and nearly four years in a coma.
The princess was admitted to hospital in December 2022 after suddenly losing consciousness because of a heart-related condition while in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
She was later airlifted by helicopter to Bangkok, where she received further medical care.
According to a palace statement, she died on Thursday evening after her condition deteriorated amid an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and blood clotting problems.
Known widely as Princess Pa, Bajrakitiyabha was born on December 7, 1978, to then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali.
She is expected to be remembered in Thailand for her high-profile public service, her work to improve conditions and opportunities for female prisoners, and her role in diplomacy.
She studied law at Cornell University, obtaining a Master’s degree and a Doctorate, and worked as an attorney in the Thai Office of the Attorney-General between 2006 and 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 female inmates, particularly those who were pregnant while in jail.
In 2017, Bajrakitiyabha was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in Southeast Asia by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
She transferred to the army in 2021, where she was bestowed the rank of a general and served as a chief of staff in the Royal Security Command.
The princess was one of King Vajiralongkorn’s three children who have formal titles and are eligible to take the throne under the constitution.
In October last year, Thailand’s Queen Mother passed away at 93.
The palace will hold royal funeral rites, while the government is expected to declare a period of national mourning.
