Bajrakitiyabha, Princess Rajasarinisiribajra

Bajrakitiyabha, Princess Rajasarini Siribajra (7 December 1978 – 11 June 2026), also known as Princess Bha, was a member of the Chakri dynasty of Thailand. She was the eldest child of King Vajiralongkorn, and the only one born to his first wife Princess Soamsawali. She was born during the reign of her grandfather, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and was his and queen Sirikit's eldest grandchild.

A professional attorney, Bajrakitiyabha was known for her work that focused on incarcerated Thai women and their children, to ensure they are given adequate assistance to reenter Thai society upon release. Bajrakitiyabha was crucial in the United Nations implementation of the "Bangkok Rules", which became the first set of international guidelines addressing the treatment of women in the incarceration system. These efforts made her popular among the Thai public and cemented her as a potential heir to the throne.

Early life and education Bajrakitiyabha was born on 7 December 1978 at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall of the Dusit Palace, in Bangkok. She subsequently finished her secondary education at the Chitralada School within Dusit Palace. She returned to Thailand, and received both an Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Sukhothai Thammatirat Open University and a Bachelor of Laws from Thammasat University, both in 2000. She moved to the United States where she obtained a Master of Laws and a Doctor of Juridical Science from Cornell University in 2002 and 2005 respectively. Her doctorate thesis was titled "Towards equal justice: Protection of the rights of the accused in the Thai criminal justice process. A comparison with France and the United States." At Cornell, she used the name Patty.

In 2002, she was a summer legal intern at Baker McKenzie's Washington, D.C. office. On completion of her legal education, Princess Bajrakitiyabha worked briefly at the Thai Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York before returning to Thailand. In September 2006, she was appointed Attorney in the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok and was then appointed to Office of the Attorney General of Udon Thani Province.

From 2012 to 2014, during the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, she served as ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia until she returned to a post at the Office of the Attorney General.

On 3 February 2021, the princess was transferred from her position as an attorney in the Office of the Attorney General to the Royal Security Command in the position of Chief of Staff of The King's Close Bodyguard Command and bestowed the rank of general.

Work on women in the penal system

The princess was instrumental in prodding the Thai government to submit a resolution to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council, that detailed the vulnerability of women incarcerated in a system built principally for men. Her efforts were to lead to the United Nations' adoption of the "Bangkok Rules", the first set of universal guidelines addressing the treatment of women in the justice system.

Bajrakitiyabha ran the "Kamlangjai" or "Inspire" project, which reaches out to incarcerated Thai women, including pregnant inmates and their babies, and intends to ensure that those female and pregnant inmates are given adequate assistance to prepare them to reenter society upon release. She also worked on "Enhancing lives of Female Inmates" (ELFI), a project which proposes new rules for the treatment of women prisoners and non-custodial measures for women offenders as a supplement to the 1955 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMRTP). Because of her Kamlangjai project, Bajrakitiyabha was noted as an influential legal advocate and became popular among the Thai public. Some analysts noted that this set her apart from other royals, as they were seen as distant from the Thai people. The Bureau of the Royal Household announced the following day that the episode was due to a severely irregular heartbeat caused by a mycoplasma infection in her heart, a bacterial infection usually associated with pneumonia. She had been training her dogs for the Thailand Working Dog Championship 2022 organised by the Royal Thai Army. Bajrakitiyabha was initially taken to Pak Chong Nana Hospital and then transferred to the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.

On 19 December, the Bureau of the Royal Household subsequently announced that Bajrakitiyabha's heart, lung and kidney functions were being supported by equipment and that her condition was "stable at a certain level". Her father's New Year's greeting card for 2023 showed him and Queen Suthida garbed in somber black, which some noted spoke to the severity of Bajrakitiyabha's condition. In October 2025, her grandmother, Queen Sirikit, died at the same hospital where Bajrakitiyabha was being treated.

In May 2026, Bajrakitiyabha developed a stomach infection, which caused her blood pressure to drop. Her condition later worsened as she developed colitis, low blood pressure, arrhythmias and blood clotting disorders. The Nikkei described Bajrakitiyabha's death as "one of the greatest tragedies in the Chakri dynasty".

The government declared fifteen days of national mourning. Mourners gathered outside King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Later, King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida led the Buddhist funeral rites for Bajrakitiyabha. Public participation included Buddhist water-pouring rituals before Bajrakitiyabha's portrait. She was also speculated to be a potential regent for Dipangkorn. Her efforts led to the United Nations General Assembly adopting the "Bangkok Rules" on care and conditions for female prisoners worldwide. CNN said that Bajrakitiyabha's efforts "improved the livelihoods of female prisoners" in the country. Her efforts were also a main factor for the Thai government to submit a resolution to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that argued that women were vulnerable in a male-dominated prison system.

National honours Dame of the The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri (2019) Dame of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems (2019) Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao, First Class (1991) Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the White Elephant (2005) Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown of Thailand (1996) Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn (1995) Member of the Order of Symbolic Propitiousness Ramkeerati King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal, First Class (1984) King Vajiralongkorn's Royal Cypher Medal Chakra Mala Medal – Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military and Police) (2025)

Foreign honours

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