Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand, who had been in a coma for three years after falling ill, has died at the age of 47. She was the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's seven children. An announcement from the Royal Office on June 13 stated that the princess died on the evening of June 12 at a hospital in Bangkok, where she had been receiving care since losing consciousness.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called the late princess "a pride of Thailand" and emphasized that "her dedication to building a society of compassion, justice and equality will forever remain a moral legacy for the nation, a guiding light for generations of Thai people."
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was beloved by the Thai people for her public service projects and judicial reforms, particularly the Kamlangjai campaign (also known as "Inspire"), which helped rehabilitate imprisoned Thai women before their release. Analysts say her work set her apart from other royal members who were seen as distant from the public.
Although male heirs are favored in the royal succession, a recent constitutional amendment opened the possibility that the princess could have become the first woman to rule under Thai tradition. Currently, the expected heir to the throne is her younger brother, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, 21, the youngest child of King Vajiralongkorn from his third legal wife, Srirasmi Suwadee.
Born on December 7, 1978, Princess Bajrakitiyabha was the daughter of then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his wife, Princess Soamsawali. She studied law at Cornell University and served briefly at Thailand's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York in the early 2000s before returning home to work as a chief prosecutor in Udon Thani province. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand's ambassador to Austria. In 2017, she was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Thanks to her efforts, the UN General Assembly adopted the Bangkok Rules on the care and conditions of female prisoners in 2010.
On June 13, many people gathered in the lobby of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, where the princess was treated, to express their condolences. Some held photos of her from various years. "I knew she was sick, but I hoped for a miracle," said Pattamaporn Kaewkityakorn, a resident who was present, speaking to AP. She said she had arrived the evening of June 12 and stayed up all night to show support, unaware that the news of her death would be announced the following morning.
