Her abilities, and the trust her father appeared to have in her, made her an inevitable topic of speculation about the royal succession.
King Vajiralongkorn, who is 73 years old, has not yet named an heir. Thai custom dictates that the heir should be a male, but a 1974 amendment to the constitution does allow a female to take the throne.
The king has five sons, but four by his second marriage were disowned in 1996 and have lived since then with their mother in the US. His fifth son, Dipangkorn, by his third wife, is the presumed heir, although questions have been raised about his ability to perform the role of monarch, in a country where the royal institution carries so much influence.
For many Thai royalists, Princess Bajrakitiyabha seemed the most promising figure to succeed her father, either as queen or as a regent to help Prince Dipangkorn.
Her death leaves the question of the succession in Thailand unanswered, and the severity of the country’s lese majeste law rules out any public discussion of it.
