Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol has died at 47 after being in coma for 3 years

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol has died at 47, the Bureau of the Royal Household said.

The lawyer and the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s children died on Thursday evening (11 June) at a Bangkok hospital where she had been cared for since falling unconscious due to illness three years ago, according to the statement issued on Friday (12 June).

In December 2022, she fell unconscious while training dogs for an army exhibition. The palace said she had a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial infection usually associated with pneumonia.

"This loss is not merely bad news announced to the people, but an immeasurable grief in the hearts of the entire nation," Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a televised speech.

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol has died at 47 (Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP via Getty Images)

Charnvirakul added that the princess was 'a pride of Thailand,' and that 'her commitment to building a society of kindness, justice, and equality will forever remain as a moral legacy for the nation, a guiding light for generations of Thais'.

Bajrakitiyabha was active in justice reform efforts and best known for her Kamlangjai, or 'Inspire,' project to help rehabilitate incarcerated Thai women ahead of their release.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha studied law at Thammasat University before continuing her education at Cornell University in New York, where she earned a Master of Laws degree in 2002.

She completed her doctorate at Cornell in 2005, with a dissertation focused on protecting the rights of accused persons within the justice system.

The Thai royal fell unconscious due to illness three years ago in 2022 (SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images)

In recognition of her academic achievements and contributions to legal scholarship, scholarships at Cornell Law School and a legal scholar exchange programme between Thailand and Cornell were later established in her name.

After a brief stint at Thailand’s mission to the United Nations in New York, she returned to Thailand to work as a public prosecutor.

She resumed her diplomatic career in 2012 when she was appointed Thailand’s ambassador to Austria, serving until 2014.

Upon returning home, she devoted much of her work to criminal justice reform.

In 2017, she was named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol was a longstanding advocate for the rights of women in the justice system (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / Contributor / Getty Images)

A longstanding advocate for the rights of women in the justice system, Bajrakitiyabha championed the rehabilitation of female prisoners and worked to improve conditions for women in detention.

She also supported initiatives aimed at preventing violence against women through her role as an honorary UN goodwill ambassador.

Her advocacy helped pave the way for the adoption of the UN General Assembly’s Bangkok Rules, which set international standards for the treatment of women prisoners.

"Society cannot grow if there is instability and injustice," Bajrakitiyabha said in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press.

"Without the rule of law, without a good justice system, it’s always chaos," she said. "The rule of law is a vital foundation for development, economic growth and, ultimately, the protection of human rights."