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Thai King's Daughter Remains Unconscious Weeks After Collapsing, Palace Says


FILE - Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn speaks with Princess Bajrakitiyabha while meeting supporters in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 1, 2020.
FILE - Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn speaks with Princess Bajrakitiyabha while meeting supporters in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 1, 2020.

Thailand's Princess Bajrakitiyabha remains unconscious more than three weeks after collapsing due to a heart problem, a palace statement said in an update on the health of the the 44-year-old potential heir to the throne.

The eldest child of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn lost consciousness on Dec. 15 due to severe heart arrhythmia resulting from inflammation following a mycoplasma infection, according to a statement issued by the palace late Saturday.

The princess's "overall condition is that she remains unconscious," the palace said.

"Doctors continue to provide medicine and use equipment to support the functions of the heart, lung and kidney as well as using antibiotics while monitoring her condition closely," it said.

Princess Bajarakitiyabha fell ill while preparing her dogs for a competition in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, where she was initially treated before being taken by helicopter to Bangkok.

She is one of three children of King Vajiralongkorn who have formal titles, making her eligible for the throne under a palace succession law and the country's constitution.

The king has yet to formally designate an heir and there has been no official discussion on the prospect of the princess taking the throne.

Princess Bajarakitiyabha, a trained lawyer with master and doctorate degrees from Cornell University, has served as Thai ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia and in roles with the attorney general's office, the Royal Security Command and as Thai ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

She was born on Dec. 7, 1978. Her mother is the king's first wife, Princess Soamsawali.

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