Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Dies at 47 After 3 Years in a Coma

The princess was a lawyer and advocate for the rights of incarcerated women

NEED TO KNOW

• Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, known as “Princess Bha,” has died
• The 47-year-old had been in a coma for three years and had been hospitalized since December 2022
• Princess Bha was a lawyer and advocate for the rights of incarcerated women

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died after three years in a coma. She was 47.

Bajrakitiyabha, also known as "Princess Bha," died on Thursday, June 11, at a hospital in Bangkok, the Bureau of the Royal Household announced in a statement. 

The princess, who was a lawyer and one of the most visible members of the royal family on the world stage, was hospitalized in December 2022 after she fell unconscious while training dogs. Bajrakitiyabha had a mycoplasma infection, the palace said, per the Associated Press.

The royal family rarely shared updates on Bajrakitiyabha’s condition. In August 2025, they reported that her medical team “detected a severe infection in the bloodstream, leading them to administer antibiotics and medication to stimulate blood pressure in order to maintain stable levels.” Her doctors reported that her “lungs and kidneys have been functioning with support from medical devices and medication,” the statement said.

In May, the royal family said Bajrakitiyabha was experiencing “unstable vital signs, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and abnormal blood coagulation.”

The princess was born to Vajiralongkorn, 73, and his then-wife, Princess Soamsawali, 68, on Dec. 7, 1978. She studied law at Thammasat University and later earned a master’s degree in law at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in 2002. She also earned a doctorate at Cornell University. Bajrakitiyabha then worked at the Thai Mission to the United Nations in New York City before returning to Thailand to serve as a public prosecutor.

Bajrakitiyabha was Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014 and became a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime in 2017. She campaigned for justice reform, focusing on efforts to rehabilitate incarcerated women. Bajrakitiyabha played a key role in the U.N. adopting the “Bangkok Rules,” also known as the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, in 2010. She was also 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."

Bajrakitiyabha’s death leaves the future of the Thai monarchy uncertain, as the king has not officially named a successor. His youngest son, 21-year-old Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, is the presumptive heir because sons take precedence over daughters. However, Bajrakitiyabha was seen as a potential heir due to her public service. Thailand has never had a ruling queen, but the country did pass an amendment in 1974 to allow for a female ruler, the BBC reported.

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Vajiralongkorn does have four other sons with his second wife, but they were disowned in 1996 and live with their mother in the U.S. Their sister, 39-year-old Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, was returned to Thailand and holds a royal title.

“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?’ ”

The princess is survived by her parents and six half-siblings.

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