According to a statement from the Bureau of the Royal Household released last night (7 January), Princess Bajrakitiyabha, King Vajiralongkorn's oldest child, remains unconscious after she was hospitalized on 14 December 2021.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha presides over a royal donation of medical equipment to a prison in Phitsanulok province in March 2020

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, 44, was reported to have collapsed from a heart condition while training her dogs for the 2022 Thailand Working Dog Championship of the Royal Thai Army at the Military Dog Battalion in Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. She was taken to the Pak Chong Nana Hospital before being transferred via helicopter to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok where she remains hospitalized.

The Bureau of the Royal Household issued a second statement on 19 December saying that the Princess is stable and that her heart, lungs, and kidneys are being treated with medication and medical equipment.

The Bureau released another statement last night (7 January), stating that Princess Bajrakitiyabha collapsed due to severe cardiac arrhythmia relating to a mycoplasma infection. She is unconscious and is being given antibiotics, while her heart, lungs, and kidneys continue to be treated with medication and medical equipment.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha is the oldest of King Vajiralongkorn’s 7 children and the only child born to his first wife, Princess Soamsawali. She is also his only child whose parents still retain their royal titles. Although the King has not appointed an heir, Princess Bajrakitiyabha has been viewed by many as a likely successor to the throne due to her public standing and family background.

She previously worked in the Thai Permanent Mission to the UN and the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok. In February 2021, she was transferred to the Royal Security Command, the military unit responsible for the security of the King and his family, and given the rank of General.