Thailand’s palace says Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died aged 47 after nearly four years in a coma. Her illness began in December 2022 with serious heart problems, later complicated by multiple infections a
For nearly four years, Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol was held in a hospital bed after her health collapsed in December 2022. Now the palace has announced she has died aged 47.
The eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn had been in a coma for almost four years, following a worsening illness that began when she became gravely ill after having heart problems while out training her dogs. Since then, updates about her condition were rare—until they turned dire.
In early May. the palace said her medical condition had worsened because she developed multiple infections in several organs. and physicians were unable to stabilise her irregular heart rate. The palace detailed an earlier turning point from April: doctors had discovered a stomach infection that led to inflammation in her intestines. causing her blood pressure to fall and her heartbeat to become irregular. Her kidney function and breathing had been supported through medical equipment, the palace said in its statements.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha—known in Thailand as Princess Bha—was born in 1978 to then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and his wife. and cousin. Princess Soamsawali. She held multiple degrees, including a doctorate from Cornell University. Beyond royal duties. she served as an ambassador to Austria. worked in the attorney general’s office and the royal security command. and acted as a goodwill ambassador to the UN office on drugs and crime. She also campaigned for the rights of female prisoners.
Her death lands at a politically sensitive moment for Thailand. It is expected to raise questions about succession. an issue the country treats with unusual care because public discussion of the monarchy is restricted by a strict lese majesty law. Under that law. criticism of the royal family can carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison on a single charge.
For years, analysts had considered Bajrakitiyabha to be a well-suited heir to the throne, though the idea was never addressed officially.
The palace announcement also places the spotlight on Vajiralongkorn’s family structure. The king has married four times and has seven children. Bajrakitiyabha was one of only three of his children to hold a royal title, alongside Princess Sirivannavari, 38, and Prince Dipangkorn, 20.
Her position has fed speculation. Some observers believed Bajrakitiyabha might have acted as a regent for Dipangkorn, who has been reported to have learning difficulties. Others wondered whether she could become queen herself—though Thailand has never had a ruling queen.
That speculation sits against a backdrop of divisions within the royal family. Vajiralongkorn’s four other sons have lived abroad since the mid-1990s after he announced his divorce from their mother. Sujarinee. a former actor. Sujarinee publicly accused him of adultery. and later the king divorced Bajrakitiyabha’s mother in 1991. with her still retaining a royal title and remaining a key member of the monarchy.
Dipangkorn’s mother, Srirasmi Suwadee, was stripped of her royal title after her family were accused of corruption.
Some of the estranged sons travelled to Thailand for the first time in decades in 2023 and made several visits to the country. In 2025, however, they claimed they had been denied entry to Thailand.
In the end. the palace’s announcement confirms what had already become an agonising silence around her condition: Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol. who for years was considered by many to be among the strongest candidates to succeed. has died at 47. The medical details provided by the palace—heart problems. infections across multiple organs. and the inability to stabilise her irregular heartbeat—explain the final chapter.
But Thailand’s wider question now is harder, and more risky to ask out loud: what happens next, and who will be able to step forward in a succession debate that has long lived behind legal boundaries and careful public restraint.
Thailand Princess Bajrakitiyabha King Maha Vajiralongkorn lese majesty law succession coma Cornell University Dipangkorn Sirivannavari