Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and one of the royal family’s most visible figures abroad, has died after spending three years in a coma. She was 47.
Bajrakitiyabha, widely known as “Princess Bha,” died Thursday, June 11, at a hospital in Bangkok, the Bureau of the Royal Household announced.
The princess had been hospitalized since December 2022, when she fell unconscious while training dogs. The palace later said she had a mycoplasma infection, according to the Associated Press.
The royal family rarely gave public updates on her condition during her long hospitalization.
In August 2025, officials said her medical team had “detected a severe infection in the bloodstream, leading them to administer antibiotics and medication to stimulate blood pressure in order to maintain stable levels.”
Doctors also said her “lungs and kidneys have been functioning with support from medical devices and medication,” according to the statement.
In May, the royal family said Bajrakitiyabha was suffering from “unstable vital signs, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and abnormal blood coagulation.”
Born Dec. 7, 1978, Bajrakitiyabha was the daughter of Vajiralongkorn, 73, and his then-wife, Princess Soamsawali, 68.
She built a public career far beyond palace ceremonies, studying law at Thammasat University before earning a master’s degree in law from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 2002. She also earned a doctorate from Cornell.
Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebyavati passed away on Thursday night at the age of 47, the Royal Household Bureau announced on Friday morning.
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After working at the Thai Mission to the United Nations in New York City, Bajrakitiyabha returned to Thailand and served as a public prosecutor.
She later served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014 and became a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2017.
Bajrakitiyabha was best known internationally for her work on justice reform, especially her advocacy for incarcerated women.
She played a key role in the United Nations’ adoption of the “Bangkok Rules,” formally known as the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, in 2010.
She also served as an honorary U.N. goodwill ambassador for women.
“Society cannot grow if there is instability and injustice,” Bajrakitiyabha told the AP in 2013. “Without the rule of law, without a good justice system it’s always chaos… I think the rule of law is a very important pillar to development, to economic growth, and of course to human rights.”
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol
Her death leaves new uncertainty around the future of Thailand’s monarchy, as the king has not officially named a successor.
His youngest son, 21-year-old Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, is considered the presumptive heir because sons take precedence over daughters.
Still, Bajrakitiyabha had long been viewed as a possible heir because of her public service, education and international profile.
Thailand has never had a ruling queen, though the country passed a 1974 amendment allowing a woman to take the throne, according to the BBC.
Vajiralongkorn has four other sons with his second wife, but they were disowned in 1996 and live with their mother in the United States. Their sister, 39-year-old Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, was returned to Thailand and holds a royal title.
Those who worked with Bajrakitiyabha remembered her as a serious advocate who used her royal platform to push for reforms.
“She gave a lot of her time, which she didn’t have to do,” Jeremy Douglas, a senior official at the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime who worked with Bajrakitiyabha, told The New York Times on Thursday. “Behind the scenes, she was pushing her ideas, holding meetings, sitting down with people and brainstorming: ‘What can we do better?’ ”
Bajrakitiyabha is survived by her parents and six half-siblings.
Her death marks the loss of a princess who blended royal duty with a legal career and a global campaign for women caught in the justice system.
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