Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Dies at 47 After Four Years in Coma

The eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has died at 47, the palace said, after nearly four years in a coma.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, known in Thailand as Princess Bha, had been in hospital since December 2022. She became gravely ill after heart problems while training her dogs.

There had been few updates on her health since her hospitalisation. In early May the palace said her condition had worsened because of multiple infections in several organs and that physicians could not stabilise her irregular heart rate.

In April physicians found a stomach infection that caused inflammation in her intestines, lowered her blood pressure and made her heartbeat irregular. Her kidney function and breathing were supported by medical equipment, palace statements said.

Born in 1978 to then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his wife and cousin Princess Soamsawali, Bajrakitiyabha held several degrees, including a doctorate from Cornell University. She served as ambassador to Austria, worked in the attorney general’s office and the royal security command, and acted as a goodwill ambassador for the UN office on drugs and crime. She also campaigned for the rights of female prisoners.

Her death will raise questions about succession, a sensitive issue in Thailand where public discussion of the monarchy is limited by a strict lese majesty law. Criticism of the royal family can lead to up to 15 years in prison on a single charge.

Bajrakitiyabha was considered by many analysts to be a well-suited heir to the throne, though this has never been addressed officially.

The king has married four times and has seven children. Bajrakitiyabha was one of only three of his children to hold a royal title, along with Princess Sirivannavari, 38, and Prince Dipangkorn, 20.

Some had speculated that Bajrakitiyabha might have acted as a regent for Dipangkorn, who is reported to have learning difficulties, or become queen herself. Thailand has never had a ruling queen.

Vajiralongkorn’s four other sons have lived abroad since the mid-1990s after he announced his divorce from their mother, Sujarinee, a former actor, and publicly accused her of adultery. Their sister Princess Sirivannavari was returned to Thailand and raised as a member of the royal family.

The estranged sons travelled to Thailand for the first time in decades in 2023 and made several visits until, in 2025, they claimed they had been denied entry.

The king divorced Bajrakitiyabha’s mother in 1991, but she retains a royal title and is a key member of the monarchy. Dipangkorn’s mother, Srirasmi Suwadee, was stripped of her royal title after her family were accused of corruption.