Thai Princess Pajasakitiyabha Dies After Four Years in Coma

Thailand’s royal palace announced overnight Thursday to Friday that Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the eldest daughter of King Rama X, died at 47 after nearly four years in a coma. The palace said a royal funeral is planned, and Thailand’s government may declare a national mourning period. It is still unclear what, if any, broader consequences her death will have.

The princess died in a hospital in Bangkok, where she had been treated since collapsing in 2022 while training her dogs for an army-organized competition. According to the palace, she suffered from a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial infection commonly associated with pneumonia. In 2023, the king and queen appeared dressed in dark black during a New Year’s greeting, which many Thais interpreted as a sign of the seriousness of her condition.

Bajrakitiyabha, also known as Princess Pa, held a very high position in her father’s inner circle. In January 2021 she was appointed head of staff in the Royal Guard and given the rank of general. She studied law in the United States, built a diplomatic career working with several United Nations agencies, and served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014. She was also known for efforts to help female prisoners in Thai jails.

She was one of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s seven children and his only child from his first marriage. Like two other royal children, she held official royal titles that under Thailand’s 1924 succession law gave her the right to inherit the throne. Vajiralongkorn, who took the throne in 2016, has not formally named an heir. His designated successor is his son, Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. Reuters noted that while the 1924 law says the heir should be male, a 1974 amendment allows a daughter to inherit if no heir has been formally appointed.