BANGKOK (Portal) – The eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn is in stable condition “at a certain level” with doctors using drugs and machines to support her lungs, heart and kidney functions after she had a heart problem , the palace said on Monday.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, 44, a potential heir to the Thai throne, showed no signs of a heart abnormality in a coronary angiography and her condition has been closely monitored, the royal palace said in its first statement since Thursday when it confirmed her hospitalization.
The princess fell ill and passed out on Wednesday while preparing her dogs for a competition in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, the palace said. She received treatment at the scene before being helicoptered to Bangkok for further treatment.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha 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 officially designate an heir and there has been no official discussion of the prospect of the princess ascending the throne.
In its statement, the palace said her “condition is stable to some extent” and her heartbeat is being controlled by medication, but her heart contraction is still weak.
“Doctors administer medicine and the heart, lungs and kidneys are supported by machines,” it said.
While the Palace Succession Act 1924 stipulated that the heir to the throne should be male, a 1974 constitutional amendment allowed a daughter of the royal line to ascend to the throne if no successor had been named.
The Princess was born on December 7, 1978 to the King and his first wife, Princess Soamsawali.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, a lawyer by training with masters and doctoral degrees from Cornell University, has served as Thai Ambassador to Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia, as well as held positions at the Attorney General’s Office, the Royal Security Command and as Thai Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Crime active prevention and criminal justice.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)