Thailand's monarchy has lost a prominent figure, with the palace announcing that Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol has died at 47 after spending nearly four years in a coma, the Guardian reports. The king's eldest child collapsed in December 2022 while training her dogs and was later found to have serious heart problems. Palace bulletins since then were rare; in recent months officials said infections had spread to multiple organs, her blood pressure had plunged, and she required machines to support kidney function and breathing. A period of national mourning is expected to be declared, Sky News reports.
Born in 1978 to then-Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and Princess Soamsawali, Bajrakitiyabha earned several degrees, including a doctorate from Cornell University, and served as ambassador to Austria, in Thailand's attorney general's office, in the royal security command, and as a UN drugs and crime goodwill envoy. She was also known for work on women prisoners' rights. Her death immediately sharpens questions about royal succession in a country where discussion of the palace is tightly constrained by harsh lèse-majesté laws. Analysts had long viewed her as a leading potential heir or future regent for her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn, 20, who is one of only two other children of King Maha Vajiralongkorn holding royal titles. The AP reports her experience in public service led many to believe she could hold a regent role for her half-brother.
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