The death of Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati, once seen as a potential heir, has raised the question of royal succession in a country where the monarchy wields enormous power.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn, himself appointed crown prince at the age of 20, has yet to name a successor nearly a decade after taking the throne.

The 73-year-old’s eldest daughter, who died on Thursday after being hospitalized for nearly four years, played the most active public role of his children and had been given the rank of army general.

Only two of his remaining six children have royal titles — a prince and a princess — while the others live abroad after their exile from Thailand alongside their mother.

Discussion about the royal family is a highly sensitive issue in Thailand, where a strict lese-majeste law prohibits insults and criticism against the monarchy with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

Although a palace law dating back to 1924 bars princesses from the line of succession, changes to the constitution in 1974 allow for a princess to be appointed by the Privy Council — the king’s panel of advisers — in the event that the throne becomes vacant without an officially designated heir.

Some observers believed that paved the way for Princess Bajrakitiyabha to potentially become the country’s first queen regnant, boosted by her senior royal status and extensive official duties, including a position as a diplomat in Austria and several roles within the United Nations. She was also an advocate for prison reform, and her campaign led to the U.N. adoption of the Bangkok Rules aimed at enhancing lives of female inmates in 2010.

The king has no children with his current and fourth wife, Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, 48.

Now the spotlight turns to his daughter and five sons. Here are his potential successors:

—Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti Sirivibulyarajakumar, 21

Prince Dipangkorn is the youngest and only son with a royal title, born to King Vajiralongkorn’s third wife, Srirasmi Suwadee. He is widely considered an heir presumptive under the palace succession law.

The young prince received elementary education in Thailand’s elite Chitralada School in Dusit Palace before studying abroad in Germany, where the king has previously spent a lot of time. When Prince Dipangkorn returns to Thailand during school breaks, he often visits Buddhist temples and discusses religious matters with the Supreme Patriarch.

The king divorced the prince’s mother in 2014, and the government said that she resigned from royal life. Her parents were charged with lese majeste and served more than two years in prison.

—Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, 39

The princess is the only daughter among five children by the king’s second wife, former actress Sujarinee Vivacharawongse. Unlike her other siblings, Princess Sirivannavari lives in Thailand and holds a royal rank granted to her by previous monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2005.

As the only other child of King Vajiralongkorn with a royal title, Princess Sirivannavari is seen as behind her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn in the line of succession.

A graduate of Chulalongkorn University in 2008, Princess Sirivannavari has won medals at the Southeast Asian Games for competing in the national badminton and equestrian teams. Referred to by local media as the “designer princess,” she has an eponymous luxury fashion label, whose designs have been showcased at international events including the Milan Fashion Week and Cannes Film Festival. In a 2013 interview with Vogue, the princess credited her grandmother, Queen Mother Sirikit, for her interest in fashion.

The princess has given several interviews to Thai media over the years. On a television talk show in 2018, Princess Sirivannavari said she had taken off her “princess hat” while attending university in an effort to make friends, as her father wanted her to enjoy the life of a student.

—The Four Vivacharawongse Sons

Princess Sirivannavari’s four elder brothers — Juthavachara, 46; Vacharaesorn, 45; Chakriwat, 43; and Vatchrawee, 40 — were exiled to the U.S. after their parents’ divorce in 1996. They have been stripped of their royal ranks, and for this reason they’re ineligible for the line of succession under the 1924 palace law. However, the king has the power to reinstate their titles and invite them back into the royal family.

Juthavachara, the eldest of the four, has worked in the aviation industry for more than two decades and is a director at an aircraft maintenance company in San Diego, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Vacharaesorn worked as an attorney at a law firm in New York and founded a Thai Heritage Scholarship Fund that awards grants to young Thais growing up in the U.S. to learn about their roots.

Chakriwat is a medical doctor who has made more than two hundred videos on his YouTube channel focusing on healthcare. The two are active on social media, occasionally writing messages to Thai people and posting pictures of engagements with Thai communities overseas.

Vatchrawee, the youngest, has a graduate law degree and a master of business administration.

Vacharaesorn was the first to return to Thailand in August 2023, after 27 years abroad. With Bajrakitiyabha hospitalized, his visit sparked speculation that he may be rehabilitated to re-join the royal family and become a potential candidate to succeed the king. His siblings followed with their own visits to Thailand.

After choosing to stay in the country, Vacharaesorn and Chakriwat were exiled again in June 2025, their eldest brother Juthavachara told Time in an interview.

Juthavachara is reportedly married to a foreigner, which would disqualify him as a potential successor under the palace law. It is unclear whether Vacharaesorn is still married to his foreign wife.

(Derek Wallbank contributed to this report.)

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