Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest daughter of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died at the age of 47 after spending nearly four years in a coma, according to a statement from the Royal Household.
The princess was hospitalized in December 2022 after collapsing due to a heart-related condition while visiting Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand. She was subsequently airlifted to Bangkok for specialist treatment.
The palace said she passed away on Thursday evening following a deterioration in her health caused by an abdominal infection, colitis, low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia and blood clotting complications.
Known as Princess Bha, she was born on Dec 7, 1978, and was the eldest child of King Vajiralongkorn and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali. She was among the Thai royal family members eligible to inherit the throne.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha earned advanced law degrees from Cornell University in the United States before serving as a prosecutor with Thailand’s Office of the Attorney General from 2006 to 2011.
She later served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia between 2012 and 2014, and became widely recognized for her work promoting the rights and welfare of female prisoners.
In 2021, she joined the military and was appointed a general, serving as chief of staff of the Royal Security Command. Thailand is expected to hold royal funeral ceremonies and observe a period of national mourning following her death.
