Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha, Former Ambassador, Dies at 47

Published 12 June 2026 · health

(Bloomberg) -- Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, an advocate for prison reform and the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died, according to the

(Bloomberg) -- Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, an advocate for prison reform and the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has died, according to the Bureau of the Royal Household. The 47-year-old princess, who had been hospitalized since 2022, died late Thursday at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, the bureau said in a statement on Friday. Despite intensive treatment, her condition had deteriorated due to an abdominal infection and other complications. The palace said funeral rites will be conducted with the highest royal honors. The announcement of Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s death came almost four years after she collapsed due to a heart condition while training her pet dog for a competition in December 2022. She was since put on medical equipment to support the functions of her lungs and kidneys, according to the bureau.

Given King Vajiralongkorn hasn’t formally appointed a successor, Bajrakitiyabha was seen by some analysts as a potential heir to the throne, which could’ve made her the first female monarch of the Southeast Asian nation. The Lawyer Princess Bajrakitiyabha was the oldest of the king’s seven children from three different marriages prior to his fourth and current wife, Queen Suthida. Bajrakitiyabha was the only child Vajiralongkorn had with his cousin and first wife, Princess Soamsawali. The princess was the first granddaughter of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej — who was the world’s third-longest reigning monarch after Louis XIV of France and Queen Elizabeth II — and Queen Sirikit, who passed away last year. Referred to occasionally in local media as “the lawyer princess,” Bajrakitiyabha had a doctoral degree in law from Cornell University and was a qualified barrister in Thailand.

The Bajrakitiyabha Fund for Legal Education was established in her name in 2006 to award scholarships to Thai students pursuing education at her alma mater. Royal Role Princess Bajrakitiyabha had served multiple roles in Thailand’s public sector since the turn of the century. Among the most prominent was her role as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, a time that saw her concurrently serve as the nation’s representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna. At home, she served in the Office of the Attorney General and was appointed to goodwill ambassador roles for UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The princess was an advocate for prison reform, with a special interest in the well-being of women prisoners.