Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, known in Thailand as Princess Bha, died on Thursday evening at the age of 47. The palace reported that the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn had been in a coma for nearly four years following a hospitalization in December 2022. According to Al Jazeera, she became gravely ill after experiencing heart problems while training her dogs. Palace statements indicated her condition worsened in early May due to multiple organ infections and an irregular heart rate, while other reports noted she suffered from a stomach infection that led to intestinal inflammation and required medical equipment to support her kidney function and breathing. On Saturday afternoon, a royal funeral procession traveled through Bangkok’s city center to the Grand Palace. The procession, which included motorcycles and cars, was lined for kilometers by thousands of citizens dressed in black, hospital nurses, and officials in white suits with black armbands. The princess arrived in a silver van followed by her father, the king, in a cream-colored car. The Guardian reported that mourners gathered in the heat with umbrellas and fans, many of whom bowed their heads in silence or wept as the procession passed. The princess held several official roles, including serving as an ambassador to Austria, a member of the royal security command, and a goodwill ambassador to the UN office on drugs and crime. She also served in the attorney general’s office and campaigned for the rights of female prisoners. The Guardian noted her work for underprivileged people, specifically highlighting her involvement in providing aid during the 1995 Bangkok floods and founding the “Friends in Need” project under the Thai Red Cross Society. The princess was born in 1978 and held several degrees, including a doctorate from Cornell University. Al Jazeera noted that her death may raise questions regarding succession, as she was considered by some analysts to be a well-suited heir to the throne. The public will be allowed to pay respects to the royal remains at the Grand Palace’s throne hall starting June 27, following a 15-day royal merit-making ceremony. A date for the cremation ceremony has not yet been announced.