by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

 

An attorney and a diplomat, Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, The Princess Rajasarini Siribajra, also known as Princess Pa, is the eldest of the seven children of King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, and the only child of the King and his first wife Princess Soamsawali of Thailand. She was born on December 7, 1978, at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Sadly, the princess remains in a coma after collapsing and losing consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia on December 14, 2022.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has four half-brothers and one half-sister from her father’s relationship with Thai actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth, who later took the name took the name Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhaya and became the second of King Vajiralongkorn’s four wives:

• Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
• Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse  (born 1981)
• Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
• Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
• Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (born 1987)

Princess Bajrakitiyabha has a half-brother from her father’s third of four marriages to Srirasm Suwadi, formerly Princess Srirasm of Thailand:

• Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand (born 2005)

Shortly after her parents’ marriage, Bajrakitiyabha’s father, then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth, a Thai actress. They had four sons and one daughter. Bajrakitiyabha’s mother Princess Soamsawali refused divorce for many years, but in 1993, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn sued for divorce in the family court. Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn accused Princess Soamsawali of being completely at fault for the failed marriage. She was not able to refute any of the charges because of lèse-majesté in Thailand. It is illegal to defame, insult, or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent, heir-presumptive, or regent of Thailand. The penalty for committing lèse-majesté is three to fifteen years in prison for each count. The divorce was finalized in July 1993. Despite the divorce, King Vajiralongkorn and Soamsawali remain on cordial terms. After the divorce Soamsawali was allowed to keep her title of princess and remain a member of the Thai royal family.

Bajrakitiyabha first attended the Rajini School (Queen’s School) in Bangkok, Thailand founded in 1904 by Queen Saovabha Phongsri, a school that her mother also attended. She then began her secondary education at Heathfield School in Ascot, England. Bajrakitiyabha finished her secondary education at Chitralada School which was established by her grandfather King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of the Dusit Palace, the residence of the King of Thailand in Bangkok. Many members of the Thai royal family attended the Chitralada School.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha then began her law studies. In 2000, she received an LL.B degree (Bachelor of Laws) from Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand and a B.A. degree (Bachelor of Arts) in International Relations from Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University, Muang Thong Thani, a suburb of Bangkok. Bajrakitiyabha then attended Cornell Law School at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in the United States where she received a LL.M degree (Master of Laws) in 2002 and a J.S.D. degree (Doctor of the Science of Law) in 2005.

After receiving her J.S.D. degree Princess Bajrakitiyabha worked for a year at the Thai Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City, before returning to Thailand. She then worked as a prosecuting attorney in the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok. Then, for several years, Bajrakitiyabha served as the Thai Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia, before returning to work in the Office of the Attorney General. In 2021, the princess began working at the Royal Security Command in the position of Chief of Staff of The King’s Close Bodyguard Command and received the rank of general.

In 2016, Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s father Vajiralongkorn became King of Thailand upon the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Princess Bajrakitiyabha plays a significant role in royal ceremonies and performs many duties on behalf of the Thai royal family. She is particularly active in the Friends in Need Volunteers Foundation and the Thai Red Cross Society.

King Vajiralongkorn (2nd right), Queen Suthida (2nd left), Princess Sirivannavari (left), Princess Bajrakitiyabha (center), and the royal noble consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani (right), attend a ceremony to commemorate the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on December 5, 2020

Princess Bajrakitiyabha is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand. In Thailand, the Palace Law of Succession gives the sovereign the sole power and prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The sovereign has the sole power and prerogative to remove the heir to the throne from his or her position. However, King Vajiralongkorn has yet to name an heir to the throne. If the sovereign dies with no heir designated, there is a line of succession, and the chief state official invites the first in the line of succession to be sovereign.

Officials pay their respects in front of a picture of Princess Bajrakitiyabha after she was hospitalized due to a heart condition at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

On December 14, 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha, while training her dogs for the Thailand Working Dog Championship organized by the Royal Thai Army, collapsed and lost consciousness due to a severe heart arrhythmia. She received emergency care at a nearby hospital and was then transferred to King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok. In a January 7, 2023, statement, the royal palace said Princess Bajrakitiyabha remained unconscious and on life support after falling into a coma. The statement attributed her collapse to an irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection, a bacterial illness usually associated with pneumonia. The royal palace, in a prior statement, also said she suffered a brain aneurysm. There have been no further statements from the royal palace.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Bajrakitiyabha (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajrakitiyabha (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
• สมเด็จเจ้าฟ้าฯ กรมหลวงราชสาริณีสิริพัชร มหาวัชรราชธิดา (Bajrakitiyabha) (2023) Wikipedia (in Thai). Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9F%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AF_%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3_%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B2 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
• Faulder, D. (2016) Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol: Thailand’s royal diplomat, lawyer, advocate, Nikkei Asia. Nikkei Asia. Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Agents-of-Change-2017/Princess-Bajrakitiyabha-Mahidol-Thailand-s-royal-diplomat-lawyer-advocate (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
• Marcelo, Philip. (2023) Thai official: No plans to void Pfizer COVID vaccine contract after its princess fell into a coma following a booster shot., AP NEWS. Associated Press. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccine-pfizer-thailand-203948163859 (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
• Mehl, Scott. (2017) King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/crown-prince-maha-vajiralongkorn-of-thailand/ (Accessed: February 10, 2023).