Bajrakitiyabha, Princess Rajasarini Siribajra (, , also known as Princess Bha or Patty, born 7 December 1978) is a Thai princess and diplomat of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the first grandchild of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

and Queen

Sirikit Sirikit (born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara; 12 August 1932) is a member of the Thai royal family who was List of Thai royal consorts#Rattanakosin Kingdom, Queen of Thailand from 28 April 1950 to 13 October 2016 as the wife of King Bhum ...

of Thailand, and the only one of the seven children of King

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn (born 28 July 1952) is King of Thailand. He is the tenth Thai monarch of the Chakri dynasty since ascending the throne in 2016 with the regnal name Rama X. The only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirik ...

born to his first wife Princess Soamsawali. In December 2022, Bajrakitiyabha collapsed as a result of a heart condition while out walking her dogs. As of , she remains in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

and is not expected to recover.

Early life and education

Princess Bajrakitiyabha was born on 7 December 1978 at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, Dusit Palace in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. She is the eldest child and first daughter of

and his first wife princess Soamsawali. She studied at the all-girls Rajini School when she was in elementary and junior high school. She moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and began her secondary education first at Heathfield School in Ascot, finishing at the

Chitralada School The Chitralada School (Thai language, Thai: ; ) is a school established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej on the grounds of Chitralada Royal Villa, Chitralada Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Considered to be the most exclusive school in Thailand, the scho ...

. Princess Bajrakitiyabha received an LL.B. degree from

Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...

, as well as a B.A. degree in International Relations from Sukhothai Thammatirat University, both in 2000. She subsequently obtained an LL.M. degree from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

in 2002 and a

J.S.D. A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 2005. On 12 May 2012, she was awarded an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Princess Bajrakitiyabha was the only child given the title of ''Kromma Luang'', the 3rd level of the ''Krom'' ranks by her father. She was the Princess Rajasarini Siribajra (''Krom Luang'' Rajasarini Siribajra).

Career

In 2002, she was a summer legal intern at

Baker McKenzie Baker McKenzie is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1949 under the name Baker & McKenzie, it has 68 offices in 46 countries and employs 4,558 attorneys. History Co-founding partner Russell Baker, who had graduate ...

's Washington, D.C. office. On completion of her legal education Princess Bajrakitiyabha worked briefly at the Thai Permanent Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, in New York, before returning to Thailand. In September 2006, she was appointed Attorney in the Office of the Attorney General in

, and was then appointed to Office of the Attorney General of Udon Thani Province. From 2012 to 2014, she was the Thai ambassador to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, until she returned to a post at the

Office of the Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. 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 The Royal Security Command () is the king of Thailand's military household and is part of Thailand's royal court administration. It exercises command and control over the military units that are engaged full-time in the protection and guarding o ...

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 The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

, that detailed the vulnerability of women incarcerated in a system built principally for men. Her efforts were to lead to the UN adoption of the " Bangkok Rules", the first set of universal guidelines addressing the treatment of women in the justice system. Bajrakitiyabha runs the "Kamlangjai" or "Inspire" project, which reaches out to incarcerated Thai women including pregnant inmates and their babies, and intends to assure those female and pregnant inmates are given adequate assistance to prepare them to reenter society upon release. She is also working 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).

Health

In December 2022, the Bureau of the Royal Household announced that the Princess had been hospitalised following a collapse while out walking her dogs on 14 December. The palace confirmed that it was due to a heart condition. She had been training her dogs for the Thailand Working Dog Championship 2022 organised by the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

. The princess was initially taken to Pak Chong Nana Hospital and then transferred to the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. As of , she remains in a coma with no information publically known about the possibility of recovery.

Honours and symbols

National honours

* Dame of The Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri * Dame of the Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems * Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao, First Class * Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

* Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) for Thais, the royal family, governmental employees, and foreign dignitaries for their outstanding serv ...

* Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the Direkgunabhorn The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn (; ) was established by King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) on 22 July 1991 (B.E. 2534) to be bestowed upon those who have rendered devotional services to the Kingdom of Thailand. The title ''Direkgu ...

* King Rama IX Royal Cypher Medal (First Class) * King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal (First Class) * Recipient of the Commemorative Medal on the Occasion of the Coronation of H.M. King Rama X

Foreign honours

* : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (7 October 2014)

Symbols

File:Royal Cypher of Princess Bajrakitiyabha.svg, Royal Monogram of Princess Bajkratiyabha File:Royal Flag of Princess Bajrakitiyabha (2019-).svg,

Royal Cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

Flag of Princess Bajkratiyabha

Ancestry

References

External links

The Friend in need of "PA"'s website

Kamlangjai Project website

The Children's Foundation, Phramongkutklao Hospital's website

Na Bha Foundation under HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bajrakitiyabha 1978 births Living people Thai female Phra Ong Chao Thai people of Mon descent Mahidol family Cornell Law School alumni Knights Grand Cordon of the Order of Chula Chom Klao Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn Thammasat University alumni Ambassadors of Thailand to Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot Thai women diplomats Thai women ambassadors Children of Vajiralongkorn 21st-century Thai women politicians 20th-century Chakri dynasty 21st-century Chakri dynasty Daughters of kings People with disorders of consciousness