BANGKOK, June 12, 2026 — Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebyavati, widely known as Princess Pa, has died after spending more than three years in a coma, the Royal Household Bureau announced on Friday. She was 47.
The princess had remained unconscious since December 2022, when she collapsed while exercising her dogs. Doctors later determined that a severe cardiac arrhythmia caused by a mycoplasma infection had led to her collapse.
According to a royal statement, Princess Bajrakitiyabha received intensive medical care from a team of specialists, but her condition gradually deteriorated over the years. She died at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn Hospital at 7:48 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Born on December 7, 1978, Princess Bajrakitiyabha was the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s seven children. She was one of the few royal family members formally eligible to succeed to the throne under Thailand’s constitutional framework.
The princess was widely respected for her public service, legal expertise, and humanitarian work. She earned advanced law degrees, including a doctorate, from Cornell University in the United States and served as a prosecutor in Thailand’s Office of the Attorney General from 2006 to 2011.
From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand’s ambassador to Austria and worked closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). During the same period, she also held diplomatic responsibilities for Slovenia and Slovakia.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha was particularly known for advocating the rights of female prisoners and pregnant inmates. She founded a charitable organization dedicated to improving conditions for women in correctional facilities.
In 2017, the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice appointed her as a Rule of Law Ambassador for Southeast Asia. She later joined the Thai military in 2021, eventually attaining the rank of general and serving as Chief of Staff of the Royal Security Command.
Her death marks a significant loss for Thailand’s royal family and the nation. The Royal Household Bureau said a royal funeral will be held, while the government is expected to declare a period of national mourning.
