Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Health

Prayers in Thailand for king's hospitalised daughter

Officials pay their respects in front of a picture of Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha as she has been hospitalized due to a heart problem at Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Thai temples held prayers and senior leaders including the prime minister visited a hospital on Friday to wish a quick recovery for the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who collapsed earlier in the week with a heart condition.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, 44, lost consciousness early on Wednesday in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima and was flown by helicopter to Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok after her condition stabilised "to a certain level", the palace said in a statement on Thursday.

There was no further official update of her condition on Friday.

Well-wishers sign a book and pay their respects for Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha as she has been hospitalized due to a heart problem at Chulalongkorn hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and many senior officials, politicians and religious leaders visited Chulalongkorn hospital on Friday to lay orange flowers, the colour associated with the princess, and sign a book of well wishes.

Thailand's Buddhist Supreme Patriarch, Somdet Phra Ariyavangsagatayana has requested all Thai temples at home and abroad to conduct special daily chanting sessions for the princess, an official announcement from the National Office of Buddhism said.

The princess is one of three children of King Vajiralongkorn who has a formal title, making her eligible for the throne under a 1924 Palace Law of Succession and the country's constitution.

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn arrives at the Chulalongkorn hospital to visit his eldest's daughter Princess Bajrakitiyabha as she has been hospitalized due to a heart problem, in Bangkok, Thailand, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Panumas Sanguanwong

The king has yet to formally designate an heir since becoming king in 2016, and there has been no official discussion on the prospect of the princess taking the throne.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Athit Perawongmetha; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Princess Bajrakitiyabha greets her royalists as she leaves a religious ceremony to commemorate the death of King Chulalongkorn, known as King Rama V, at The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.