Princess Bajrakityabha Narendera Dipyavathi, the eldest daughter of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died after being in a coma for more than three years, the royal family announced on Friday.
She died at the age of 47.The princess collapsed in December 2022 while training her dogs. Doctors attributed this to a severe irregular heartbeat due to a mycoplasma infection in her heart. Despite intensive treatment, she never regained consciousness.The palace said in a statement: “The medical team provided the closest and most intensive care possible, but her condition continued to gradually deteriorate.”
She died at 7.48pm local time on Thursday at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.With her death, the Thai royal family lost its most prominent member and someone who could have played a pivotal role in the as-yet unclear succession.
“The Lawyer Princess”
Sometimes referred to in local media as the “Lawyer Princess”, Bajrakitiyabha earned a Juris Doctorate from Cornell University and was a qualified lawyer in Thailand.
She worked briefly at the Thai Mission to the United Nations in New York before returning to Thailand to work in the Attorney General’s offices.From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand’s Ambassador to Austria, where she established a relationship with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. She began speaking publicly about the need to reform the penal code, with a particular focus on vulnerable women who end up in prison. Thailand has one of the largest numbers of female prisoners in the world.She started the Royal Kamlangjai (Inspiration) Project to support women and children in prison and prepare for their return to society. She also led the advocacy campaign in Thailand that led the UN General Assembly to adopt the Bangkok Rules aimed at improving the lives of female prisoners in 2010.
The royal role and questions of succession
In 2021, her father appointed her as chief of staff of his private bodyguard, giving her the rank of general. In August 2025, while still in hospital, she was appointed deputy commander of the King’s personal Royal Security Command.Her abilities and her father’s confidence in her made her an inevitable subject of speculation about the royal succession. King Vajiralongkorn, 73, has not yet named an heir. Thai customs require that the heir be male, but an amendment to the constitution in 1974 allows a female to take the throne.The king has five children, but four of them from his second marriage were acquitted in 1996 and have since lived with their mother in the United States.
His fifth son, Depangkorn, by his third wife, is the heir presumptive, although questions have been raised about his ability to fulfill the role of king.To many Thai royalists, Princess Bajrakitiyabha appeared to be the most promising figure to succeed her father, either as queen or as regent to assist Prince Dipangkorn. Her death leaves the question of succession unanswered, as does the severity of the country’s lese majeste law (ruling out any public discussion on the subject).The palace said that the funeral ceremony will be held with the highest levels of royal honor. Her body will be enshrined in the Peman Rataya throne room inside the Grand Palace. Members of the public will be allowed to offer clean water and pay respects from Saturday 13 June.