Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the first-born of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and known affectionately as Bha, has died at the age of 47 after a long period of time hospitalized after suffering a heart problem in December 2022, the Thai Royal Family reported this Friday.
The Thai princess died on Thursday afternoon at the Chulalongkorn Hospital, where she had been admitted in a coma for more than three years, as a result of a “progressive deterioration in her health due to an abdominal infection,” the official statement said.
“The King has issued a decree instructing the Royal Family to organize the funeral with the highest honors,” notes the letter, which indicates that the princess’s mortal remains will be transferred to the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
On December 14, 2022, the princess lost consciousness while training her dogs for a competition in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, 250 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, and was urgently admitted to the capital’s hospital. According to the official explanation, the princess lost consciousness affected by a mycoplasma bacteria that caused “inflammation of the heart” and a “serious alteration of the heart rhythm.”
Last May, after 41 months hospitalized, the Royal Family reported that the princess was being treated for “a serious infection” caused “by inflammation of the large intestine” detected in April that presents “hypotension, arrhythmia and blood coagulation”, in the seventh medical report issued since her admission to the hospital.
“Despite the meticulous and constant attention of the medical team, his condition progressively worsened until Thursday, June 11, at 7:48 p.m. (12:48 GMT), when he died,” the statement said.
A woman holds a photograph of Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand following the announcement of her death, outside King Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok, June 12, 2026.
A pillar for the country
Bajrakitiyabha, also known as Patty, was born on December 7, 1978 and was the only daughter of Vajiralongkorn’s first marriage to Princess Soamsawali, first cousin of the current monarch and whom he divorced in 1991. She had managed to bring a touch of modernity to the traditional monarchy of the Asian country, where she was much loved.
Following her father’s ascension to the throne in 2016, Bajrakitiyabha took a more prominent role in the ceremonies and events of the Royal House and representing the country, which was interpreted as a nod to the possibility of being named heir to the Crown.
With a doctorate in law from the American University of Chicago and a degree in international relations, the princess, a lover of equestrianism, also trained in some of the most elite schools in her country and in England.
In addition to law, she was also Thailand’s ambassador to Austria – between 2012 and 2014 – and held several positions representing the country in the United Nations, among others in the UN Women’s Organization and, more recently, in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
In October 2016, after the death of his grandfather, King Bhumibol, and the ascension to the throne of his father, who does not have the popularity of his father, Bajrakitiyabha took a more active role in the ceremonies and events of the Royal House and representing the country. In 2021, Bajrakitiyabha left her position as a prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office to serve as chief of command – with the rank of general – in the Royal Household Security Corps.
Following this appointment, the princess began to sport a short haircut, similar to that worn by other high-ranking Thai military ranks. These changes, and her frequent appearance at official events in a military uniform, were interpreted as a nod to the possibility of being named heir to the Crown.
Single and childless, Bajrakitiyabha differed from her father in her discreet life.
