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Princess Bha Dies
Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, died at 47 after three years in a coma, the Bureau of the Royal Household said in a statement issued Friday.
“Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand, who was in a coma for three years following an illness, has died at the age of 47”
The princess died on Thursday, June 11, at a hospital in Bangkok, where she had been cared for since she fell unconscious in December 2022 while training dogs.
The palace said she had a mycoplasma infection, and the royal family rarely shared updates on her condition until later medical updates were reported.
In August 2025, the royal family said her medical team “detected a severe infection in the bloodstream, leading them to administer antibiotics and medication to stimulate blood pressure.”
Tributes and Succession
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the late princess was “a pride of Thailand,” and that her “commitment to building a society of kindness, justice and equality will forever remain as a moral legacy for the nation.”
The Bureau of the Royal Household said the princess would lie in state at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and her funeral would be held “with the highest honors according to royal tradition,” CBS News reported.
Al Jazeera said the princess was eligible to become Thailand’s first female traditional ruler after a recent change to the constitution, and it quoted Tony Cheng reporting from Bangkok.
The presumptive heir to the throne is now the late princess’s younger brother, 21-year-old Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting from Bangkok.
Justice Reform Legacy
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was described as a lawyer and advocate for the rights of incarcerated women, and she played a key role in the U.N. adopting the “Bangkok Rules” in 2010.
People reported that she campaigned for justice reform, focusing on efforts to rehabilitate incarcerated women, and it quoted her 2013 AP interview: “Society cannot grow if there is instability and injustice.”
NBC News said she was best known for her Kamlangjai, or “Inspire,” project to help rehabilitate incarcerated Thai women ahead of their release.
Her death leaves the future of the Thai monarchy uncertain because the king has not officially named a successor, and People noted that sons take precedence over daughters while also saying she was seen as a potential heir due to her public service.
