Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, the eldest daughter of Thailand’s King Rama X, has died at the age of 47, the palace press office said.
The princess, known in Thailand as Princess Pa, had been in hospital in Bangkok since December 2022. She lost consciousness during a trip to one of the country’s national parks and was then flown to the capital by helicopter. She never regained consciousness.
Bajrakitiyabha was born on December 7, 1978. She was educated at Cornell University in the United States, where she earned master’s and doctoral degrees in law. The princess later worked as a prosecutor in the office of Thailand’s attorney-general.
From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia, before returning to work in the attorney-general’s office.
In 2017, the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice appointed her a goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in Southeast Asia.
One focus of her public work was the protection of the rights of women prisoners.
In 2021, Princess Pa received the rank of general and a position in the Royal Security Command, a body independent of Thailand’s Defense Ministry that is responsible for the security of the royal family.
According to Reuters, Thailand will declare a period of national mourning following the princess’s death.
Bajrakitiyabha was one of Rama X’s three children who could be considered potential claimants to the throne. The heir to the throne remains Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, the king’s son from his third marriage.