RUNGRI YONGRIT/EPA
A mourner in Thailand holds a photograph of Princess Bajrakitiyabha following the announcement of her death at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand
Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol fell unconscious three years ago while training dogs. The possible regent of the Royal House died this Thursday, after a long diplomatic career and a long fight for women’s rights.
The Thai princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidollawyer and the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s children, died at the age of 47, the Royal Household Office announced this Friday.
Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol died on Thursday night in a Bangkok hospital, where he had been admitted since falling unconscious due to illness three years ago, according to the statement released.
The lawyer was active in justice reform work and best known for the Kamlangjai project, or “Inspire” (‘Inspire’ in English), aimed at supporting the rehabilitation of women detained before they are released.
Bajrakitiyabha was hospitalized in December 2022 after falling unconscious while training dogs for an army exhibition. The palace said in the statement that it had a mycoplasma infectiona bacterial infection usually associated with pneumonia.
The king’s eldest daughter depended on medical devices to support her lung and kidney functions until she passed away peacefully on Thursday night.
Her father’s 2023 New Year greeting card showed King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida dressed in black, which many Thais interpreted as confirmation of the severity of the princess’s condition. The limited information released in the following years indicated a deterioration in health.
Bajrakitiyabha was born on December 7, 1978, the daughter of Vajiralongkorn, then crown prince, and his then wife, Princess Soamsawali. Vajiralongkorn has seven children with three of the four women he married. Bajrakitiyabha was also known by the real name Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, used in official state contexts.
O Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the youngest of the king’s sons, is the likely heir to the throneas sons take precedence in the line of succession in Thailand. But Bajrakitiyabha’s experience in public service has sparked speculation that she was destined to play an important role in any future succession, perhaps as regent for a young monarch.
Bajrakitiyabha studied Law at Thammasat University, then attended Cornell University in the United States, where he obtained a master’s degree in Law in 2002. He also received his doctorate from Cornell in 2005, with a thesis on the protection of defendants’ rights. Later, scholarships to Cornell Law School and a legal exchange program between Thailand and Cornell were created in the princess’ name.
After working briefly at the Thai Mission to the UN in New York, she returned to her home country and worked as a prosecutor. She resumed her diplomatic career with appointment as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria from 2012 to 2014, before returning home again to focus on criminal justice issues. In 2017, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
In addition to working for the rehabilitation of convicted women, she was involved in other projects, including a campaign to improve the living conditions of prisoners and promoting efforts to curb violence against women, as an honorary UN Goodwill Ambassador for women.
Her work led the UN General Assembly to adopt the “Bangkok Rules” on the care and conditions of women prisoners.
“Society cannot grow if there is instability and injustice,” said Bajrakitiyabha, in a 2013 interview with the Associated Press news agency. “Without the rule of law, without a good judicial system, there is always chaos,” he said. “I think the rule of law is a very important pillar for development, economic growth and, of course, human rights,” he added.
The activist’s body will remain in a burning chamber in the Grand Palace, in Bangkok, and the funeral will be held “with the highest honors, in accordance with royal tradition”, added the Royal Household Office.
“This loss is not just sad news communicated to the people, but an immeasurable pain in the hearts of the entire nation,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in a televised speech cited by ., who referred to the princess as “the pride of Thailand.”
