Thai princess Bajrakitiyabha dies after long coma at 47
The king’s eldest child had been treated in Bangkok since falling unconscious three years ago, the Royal Household said.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of Thailand’s king and a royal figure known for justice reform work, has died at 47 after three years in a coma. The Bureau of the Royal Household said she died Thursday evening at a Bangkok hospital, ending a long period of treatment after she fell unconscious.
The bureau announced her death Friday. Princess Bajrakitiyabha had been under care at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital since the illness that left her unresponsive, according to the Royal Household.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in a televised address, called the princess “a pride of Thailand” and said her commitment to kindness, justice and equality would remain part of the country’s moral legacy.
Public role and prison reform
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was widely associated with public service programs and legal reform efforts. Al Jazeera reported that she was especially known for Kamlangjai, or “Inspire,” a campaign aimed at helping imprisoned Thai women prepare for life after release.
Her work gave her a more public-facing profile than many members of the royal family, analysts told Al Jazeera. Kasidit Ananthanathorn, a lecturer at Ramkhamhaeng University, told the network that the princess had placed herself well in public life and made some Thais feel the royal family could be useful to ordinary people.
Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said Thailand’s succession system has favored male heirs, but constitutional changes meant Princess Bajrakitiyabha could have become the country’s first female traditional ruler.
A legal and diplomatic career
The princess was born on Dec. 7, 1978, to Vajiralongkorn, then crown prince, and Princess Soamsawali, his wife at the time. Her full title was Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebyavati, though Al Jazeera reported that many people called her Bha or Patty.
She studied law at Cornell University and later worked briefly at Thailand’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York in the early 2000s. After returning to Thailand, she served as attorney general of Udon Thani Province, according to Al Jazeera and The Associated Press.
From 2012 to 2014, Princess Bajrakitiyabha served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria. In 2017, she was named a goodwill ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Al Jazeera and AP reported that her advocacy helped lead to the UN General Assembly’s adoption in 2010 of the “Bangkok Rules,” standards covering the treatment of women prisoners and non-custodial measures for women offenders.
Succession and mourning
With Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s death, Al Jazeera’s Cheng reported that the presumptive heir is her younger brother, 21-year-old Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. He is King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s youngest child and was born to the king and Srirasmi Suwadee, his third legal wife.
Mourners gathered Friday at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, where the princess had been treated. Some held framed photographs of her, according to Reuters imagery and reporting from the scene.
Pattamaporn Kaewkityakorn told The Associated Press that she had come to the hospital Thursday and stayed overnight to show support, without knowing the death would be announced the next morning. “I know she was sick, but I wished there were a miracle,” she said.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.