Thai Princess Dies After More Than Three Years in Coma, National Mourning Expected

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, died on Thursday evening at age 47 after more than three years in a coma, the Royal Palace announced Friday morning. She had been unconscious since December 15, 2022, when she collapsed while training her dogs for a national competition and, according to reports at the time, suffered the failure of her lungs, kidneys and heart at age 44.

The palace said her condition worsened because of an intra-abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmia and blood-clotting problems. For more than three years, she remained under close medical supervision, even as some conspiracy theories circulated in Thailand claiming she had already died, though those claims were never confirmed.

Bajrakitiyabha was considered the crown princess and the first in line to the wealthy Chakri dynasty. Her death is expected to lead Thailand into at least 30 days of mourning. In previous royal deaths, the country has marked extended mourning periods, including 30 days after the king died in 2016 and 100 days after his sister died eight years earlier.

Such periods have affected daily life and tourism, with ceremonies in major cities, bans on music, and cancellations of parties and celebrations. After the queen died in 2025, the Thai government ordered flags lowered to half-staff for 30 days at state bodies, declared a one-year mourning period for civil servants, and asked entertainment venues to reduce or suspend festive activity for 30 days out of respect.