Thai Princess remains unconscious for more than three weeks due to a heart condition

Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati remains unconscious more than three weeks after she collapsed due to a heart condition, the palace said.

Treating physicians have concluded she had a severe arrhythmia due to inflammation of the heart caused by mycoplasma infection, the Bureau of the Royal Household said in a statement Sunday.

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The 44-year-old princess lost consciousness in northeastern Thailand on December 14 while training her dog for a competition, and was airlifted to Bangkok to receive treatment. She is currently treated with medicines including antibiotics, and on medical equipment to assist with the functioning of her heart, lungs, and kidneys, according to the palace.

Bajrakitiyabha, the oldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s seven children from three different marriages, has been seen by some analysts as a potential heir to the throne, which would make her the first female monarch of the Southeast Asian nation. The king, 70, has not appointed an heir since taking the throne in 2016.

The princess has a law degree from Cornell University and had served as a diplomat to Austria and in roles for UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. She has also served in the attorney general’s office and holds the rank of general in the king’s Royal Security Command unit.

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