Thai princess death sparks AI-manipulated images of royal family

AI-manipulated images depicting members of Thailand’s royal family in tears spread widely online as the nation mourned the death of the king’s eldest daughter in June 2026. The circulating visuals are altered versions of photos taken by journalists who denounced the manipulation, which an analysis found was done using Google’s AI tools.

“Heartbreaking for the Thai people,” reads part of a Thai-language Facebook post published on June 13, 2026.

The accompanying images appear to show Princess Sirivannavari crying as Prince Dipangkorn rests his head on her shoulder.

The post circulated after Princess Bajrakitiyabha‘s body was transferred from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital to the Grand Palace (archived link).

The king’s eldest daughter, known as Princess Bha, died on June 11 at age 47 after spending more than three years in a coma due to a cardiac condition.

Thousands of black-clad mourners lined the procession route in the capital Bangkok as the royal motorcade passed, holding photographs of the late princess to bid farewell.

Another Facebook post shared an image purportedly showing King Maha Vajiralongkorn weeping beside Queen Suthida inside a vehicle.

The caption reads: “With deepest apologies for posting this heart-wrenching image of the King and Queen.”

The images spread with similar claims across Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X — and in posts written in Chinese, Burmese and Khmer.

Comments on the posts suggest some users believed the images were authentic.

“I cried when I saw the princess cry,” wrote one user, while another said, “How strong a person must be. Sending my support and encouragement.

However, the images were altered using AI.

‘Neutral expression’

A reverse image search on Google found the images of Princess Sirivannavari and Prince Dipangkorn are almost identical to a photo published by Tanachai Pramarnpanich — a photographer for Thai media outlet TNN — on Facebook on June 14, 2026 (archived link).

“His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen travelled in a royal vehicle, accompanied by Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, and other members of the royal family, as part of the procession transporting the remains of Princess Bajrakitiyabha to the Grand Palace,” reads the caption.

Tanachai told AFP he captured the photograph at the Wiset Chai Sri Gate of the Thai royal palace (archived link).

“Princess Sirivannavari’s expression was neutral, and she was simply looking straight ahead,” he said on June 15.

“I was shocked because it was based on the exact scene and angle that I had photographed, but Princess Sirivannavari’s expression was not at all as it appeared in the AI-generated image.”

Another reverse search found the image of the king and queen resembles a photo published by media organisation Dailynews on June 13 (archived link).

But they do not appear to weep in the original photo, unlike in the circulating image.

“The King, Queen and members of the royal family joined the procession accompanying the remains of Princess Bajrakitiyabha to the Grand Palace amid the grief of the people,” reads the caption.

The photographer who took the original picture told AFP on June 15: “I was shocked and saddened that the original photograph had been altered.”

The authentic pictures were also published by state broadcaster National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (archived link).

AFP analysed the images using Google’s SynthID detection tool, which indicated with “very high” and “high” degrees of confidence that the company’s AI tools were used in the visuals (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation stemming from AI-generated content.