BANGKOK—Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and a potential successor to the throne, has died at the age of 47, the royal palace said on Friday, after multiple health problems and nearly four years in a coma.
The princess had been on life support since December 2022, when she collapsed in a park in Nakhon Ratchasima while running with her dogs during a visit to northeastern Thailand. She was flown by helicopter to the capital Bangkok for treatment.
In May, the palace announced that she had an infection in her abdomen that caused low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat.
Her death complicates the already murky question of succession in the Thai monarchy. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 73, has not publicly named an heir, and some analysts saw the princess as a possible candidate to become Thailand’s first ruling queen because of her pedigree.
She was the only child born to the king and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali, who is also a cousin of the king.
Bajrakitiyabha died on Thursday evening, after her condition worsened due to an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and blood clotting disorders, the palace statement said.
In Thailand, she will be remembered for her prominent role in public life, her efforts to improve the livelihoods of female prisoners, and her diplomatic career.
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.
Source: Saudi Gazette