Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the oldest child of Thailand’s king, has died at the age of 47 after more than three years in hospital on life support, plunging the South-East Asian nation into a period of mourning and raising fresh questions over the long-term viability of the monarchy.
The princess, who had been tipped to wield influence behind the throne of her younger brother, collapsed on December 14, 2022, while training her dogs. She died at 7.48pm on Thursday, Bangkok time, the palace said in a statement on Friday.
After her collapse in 2022, she was rushed to a local hospital in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima and later flown by helicopter to Bangkok and kept on life support.
Early reports indicated she had suffered a heart condition, and later statements from the Royal Household Bureau said medical equipment was needed to maintain heart, lung and kidney function. The palace was officially silent for years before it issued a series of updates in August 2025 about her condition that included details of a severe blood infection.
In Friday’s statement, the palace said Bajrakitiyabha died at Chulalongkorn Hospital. “The medical team provided the closest and most intensive care possible, but her condition continued to decline progressively,” the statement said.
Discussion about succession in the kingdom is often curtailed by lese-majeste laws that can lead to lengthy jail terms.
Born in 1978, Bajrakitiyabha was the only child from King Vajiralongkorn’s first marriage, a doomed union brought about because of dynastic manoeuvring. Her mother, Princess Soamsowali, was one of Vajiralongkorn’s cousins on his mother’s side of the family.
Vajiralongkorn’s mother, Queen Sirikit, orchestrated the marriage to strengthen her family’s position. It was never a particularly happy union; even before the princess was born, the future king was starting a second family.
The first of Vajiralongkorn’s children by his second wife, a former actress, was born less than a year after Bajrakitiyabha, leading to rivalry within the royal family. The children grew up in separate palaces.
Vajiralongkorn’s second wife and their four sons were sent into exile in 1996 after a bitter divorce. They were granted asylum in the United States. A younger daughter returned to live with her father in Thailand and is a working member of the royal family.
As the eldest child, Bajrakitiyabha had sometimes been touted as a potential successor to Vajiralongkorn, but speculation about the Thai monarchy has long been stifled by repressive laws against defaming top royals that can lead to lengthy jail terms. The most likely heir remains her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn.
While the palace succession law stipulates that the heir to the throne should be male, an amendment to the constitution in 1974 allowed for a daughter of the royal line to ascend the throne if a successor had not been named. Vajiralongkorn has not named a successor.
Bajrakitiyabha studied law and international relations, and served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria. She also worked in the office of the attorney-general and held a high rank in the Royal Security Command.
The princess was known for her love of horses, and often presided over the country’s grandest annual equestrian event, The Princess Cup.
She has also been a vocal campaigner for improved treatment of women by the justice system in Thailand.
Thailand became a constitutional monarchy after a revolution in 1932, but the throne’s grip on power consolidated during Bhumibol’s long rule. Vajiralongkorn, who has made international headlines because of his complicated love life and preference for living in Germany, faced outright revolt in 2020 and 2021, which for the first time in nearly a century questioned the monarchy’s place in Thai society.
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