\nThai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (right) sitting in her barge during the Royal Barge procession in Bangkok on Dec 12, 2019.<\/p>\n
PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The Princess had a doctorate in law from Cornell University.<\/p>\n
After completing her studies, she served in the Office of the Attorney-General of Thailand.\u00a0She was also chair of the special advisory board of the Thailand Institute of Justice, affiliated with the United Nations.<\/p>\n
From 2012 to 2014, she served as Thailand\u2019s ambassador to Austria and permanent representative of Thailand to the UN in Vienna.<\/p>\n
She was known to have initiated a project aimed at addressing the special needs and vulnerabilities of female inmates and their children in correctional facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In September 2008, she was appointed a UN Women national ambassador to Thailand.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued by UN Women then, the Princess was quoted as saying: \u201cI take pride in saying that Thailand\u2019s support to the global UNIFEM Say No To Violence Against Women campaign is second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also note with appreciation the national ownership that has evolved around this process. It is indeed a strong foundation upon which coordinated efforts to end violence against women and girls in Thailand have been and will continue to be built,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pran of Chiang Mai University said the Princess had made significant contributions to social work, and many were drawn to her affable nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was also widely known for being very approachable,\u201d said Pran, who observed that though she was royalty, citizens found her relatable.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was also known for casually speaking and chit-chatting with her colleagues and bureaucrats. She occasionally conversed in English with them to avoid royal words, which is mandatory for Thai commoners when speaking with royalty,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n
In 2017, the Princess was appointed UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) goodwill ambassador for the rule of law in South-east Asia.\u00a0As goodwill ambassador, she helped to secure the health, safety and well-being of individuals and families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout her life, Her Royal Highness touched the lives of people around Thailand, including the most vulnerable,\u201d Delphine Schantz, UNODC\u2019s regional representative for South-east Asia and the Pacific, told ST.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe took a profound interest in the well-being of people caught in the justice system, and became a champion for the rule of law and an effective criminal justice process which treats everyone with dignity,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
In Thailand, the strict lese majeste law, also known as 112, prohibits anyone from criticising, insulting or defaming the king and the royal family.<\/p>\n
Anyone who flouts this law can be sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison on a single charge.<\/p>\n
That is why Patrick Jory, an associate professor who studies South-east Asian history at the University of Queensland, Australia, feels that the public image of Bajrakitiyabha has also been contained by this law, with few willing to comment candidly about her.<\/p>\n
However, he observed: \u201cIt was well known that the Princess was close to her father, the King. Even though the King had not formally named a successor, in her public appearances, it appeared that he may have been grooming her to succeed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s current 1924 Palace Law on Succession does not allow a female to be a monarch.<\/p>\n
Bajrakitiyabha\u2019s death comes less than a year after Thailand\u2019s former queen Sirikit, mother of Vajiralongkorn, died on Oct 24, 2025, at the age of 93.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The country remains in a one-year mourning period for Sirikit\u2019s death, where civil servants, state employees and government officials have to wear mourning attire.<\/p>\n
The late King Bhumibol, Thailand\u2019s longest-reigning monarch, died in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\nThai citizens mourning for Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol at Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok on June 12. She had received treatment at the hospital.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: MAY WONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The Princess\u2019 death was met by an outpouring of grief from ordinary Thais to business conglomerates. The government has declared a 15-day mourning period, with flags at half-mast at government institutions.<\/p>\n
A number of electronic billboards across the capital displayed a mourning message in black, featuring her royal crest.<\/p>\n
Several Thai corporations, such as\u00a0Charoen Pokphand Group and retail giant Central Group,\u00a0changed their social media profiles to black and white out of respect for Bajrakitiyabha\u2019s passing. Many also issued public statements expressing condolences.<\/p>\n
In a video address to the country, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said her death is \u201ca heartbreak beyond measure felt in the hearts of people throughout the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay her honour, exemplary conduct and benevolence remain a cherished inspiration and a guiding light in the hearts of the Thai people forever,\u201d he said. \u201cHer vision of a society built upon compassion, justice and equality will endure as a moral legacy for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the lobby of Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok where Bajrakitiyabha had received treatment, people trickled in to pay their respects. Holding portraits of the Princess, some wept openly.<\/p>\n\n\nElectronic billboards across Bangkok flashed a message in black with Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol\u2019s royal crest to mourn her passing.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: MAY WONG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Bakery owner Thanaphon Kanchanarat, 50, took her 12-year-old daughter to the hospital to honour the late Princess. She told ST her daughter skipped school because she was in tears over the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom now on, as a mother, I want to teach my daughter to help society and help others, just as Her Royal Highness did,\u201d she said. \u201cWe should do good deeds and give back to our country, following her example of kindness, generosity and helping those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n
For 66-year-old housekeeper\u00a0Thanyaporn Alarmmekha, the news hit especially hard as she had met the late Princess before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel so sad. I don\u2019t even know how to put it into words. I had the opportunity to be close to Her Royal Highness when welcoming her on royal visits,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was always very approachable. Whenever she saw us, she would call me \u2018auntie\u2019 every single time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yossapol Paiboon, a 19-year-old university student, said he had seen many young people expressing their sadness on X and TikTok.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that people in my generation, or even younger, are feeling the same way. I might not know everything that she had done, but I know that she had done a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
King\u00a0Vajiralongkorn\u00a0has directed the Bureau of the Royal Household to arrange the royal funeral rites. The royal remains will lie in state at Biman Rataya Pavilion within the Grand Palace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.straitstimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BANGKOK \u2013 Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest daughter of Thailand\u2019s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, died at the age of 47 after nearly four years in a coma, the royal palace said in a statement on June 12. She fell ill during a military dog training session in December 2022, according to previous media reports. She was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2456156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Thai-princess-Bajrakitiyabha-Mahidol-dies-after-long-illness.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2456157,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456155\/revisions\/2456157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}