Bangkok: Their Majesties King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida of Thailand on Sunday attended a Buddhist chanting ceremony for the late Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati at the Grand Palace.
According to Thai News Agency, the King and Queen were accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, His Royal Highness Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, and Royal Noble Consort Sineenat Bilaskalayani. They arrived at the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall inside the Grand Palace complex at 7:11 p.m. local time. The Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall, constructed during the reign of King Rama I, traditionally served as a royal residential pavilion. Built with brick and mortar in a traditional three-tiered Thai roof style, it is historically connected to the main hall by an enclosed corridor. While the venue has historically been utilized for royal bathing rites, it has never previously housed the remains of a member of the royal family.
The placement of Princess Bajrakitiyabha's remains inside the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall marks another chapter in Thai royal history. Following a 15-day period of royal funerary rites, King Vajiralongkorn has granted permission for members of the public to enter the hall to pay their respects to the late princess.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, had been hospitalized under intensive care since collapsing from a severely irregular heartbeat in December 2022. The palace stated that despite continuous medical treatment, her condition deteriorated following a recent infection. A Cornell Law graduate and former diplomat, she was widely respected for her advocacy of judicial reform and women's prison welfare.
On Saturday, a solemn royal motorcade transferred her body from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital to the Grand Palace, where she was enshrined at the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall for traditional Buddhist funeral rites. Thousands of black-clad mourners lined the streets to pay their final respects as the convoy passed.