Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha dies at 47 after being in coma for more than three years; royal succession becomes focus
Princess Bagitiyaba Narendira Debiawati, the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, has died after being in a coma for more than three years, the Thai royal family announced on Friday. She died at the age of 47.In December 2022, the princess fainted while walking her dog. Doctors attributed it to a severe arrhythmia caused by a mycoplasma infection in her heart. Despite intensive treatment, she did not regain consciousness.“The medical team provided the closest and most intensive care possible, but her condition continued to gradually deteriorate,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. She died at 7:48 pm local time on Thursday at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.With her death, Thailand’s royal family has lost its most accomplished member and the man who may have played a key role in the as-yet-unclear succession to the throne.
“Lawyer Princess”
Bajrakitiyabha holds a J.D. from Cornell University and is a qualified lawyer in Thailand, occasionally referred to as the “lawyer princess” by local media. She worked briefly at Thailand’s mission to the United Nations in New York before returning to Thailand to work in the Attorney General’s Office.From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria and established relations with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. She began speaking out about the need for criminal law reform, with a particular focus on vulnerable women who ended up in prison. Thailand has one of the largest numbers of female prisoners in the world.She launched the Kamlangjai (Inspiration) Royal Project to support women and children in prison and prepare them for return to society. She also led an advocacy campaign in Thailand that led to the United Nations General Assembly adopting the Bangkok Rules in 2010, which aimed to improve the lives of female prisoners.
Royal role and succession issues
In 2021, her father appointed her as the chief of staff of the personal bodyguard and awarded her the rank of general. In August 2025, while in hospital, she was appointed deputy commander of the King’s Personal Royal Security Command.Her abilities and her father’s trust in her make her an inevitable subject of speculation about the royal succession. King Vajiralongkorn, 73, has yet to name a successor. Thai custom dictates that the heir should be male, but a 1974 constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.The King has five sons, but his four sons from his second marriage were disowned in 1996 and have since been living with their mother in the United States. His fifth son, Dipangkorn, from his third wife, is the presumptive heir, although there are questions about his ability to fulfill the role of monarch.To many Thai royalists, Princess Bhagiraji Thiayaba appears to be the favorite to succeed her father, either as queen or as regent to Prince Dibangkorn. Her death leaves the question of succession unresolved and the country’s lèse-majesté laws are stringent (precluding the possibility of any public discussion about it).Buckingham Palace said the funeral will be held with the highest royal honours. Her body will be laid to rest in the Pimanrataya Throne Hall within the Grand Palace. From Saturday, June 13, members of the public will be allowed to offer holy water and pay their respects.
