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International royalsThailand

Princess Soamsawali suffers brain haemorrhage

The Thai Royal House has released a bulletin stating that Princess Soamsawali has suffered a brain haemorrhage and that she has high blood pressure. She is currently recovering in the Chulalongkorn hospital and no further details on her prognosis have been released.

In August of last year, the Princess was admitted to the Chulalongkorn Hospital for treatment of a swollen shin of the right leg, which was diagnosed as a tissue infection. Her condition improved after being receiving medication until she experienced a weakness in her right hand. She underwent a brain scan where it was discovered that certain parts of her brain were suffering from a blood deficiency, which required the administration of an antiplatelet drug. The Princess had been undergoing physical therapy to restore the strength in her right arm and hand.

Princess Soamsawali is the eldest child of Mom Rajawongse Adulyakit Kitiyakara and Princess Bandhu Savali Yugala. Her father was the elder brother of Queen Sirikit of Thailand. On 3 January 1977, she married her first cousin, the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and she became known as Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali, Royal Consort of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand. Their only child, Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, was born on 7 December 1978. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1991. After the divorce, her former father-in-law granted her a new title, Phravararajatinuddamat, meaning the mother of the King’s first grandchild. She still performs royal duties on behalf of the King and has shown an interest in public health and social welfare. She is the patron of several Thai Red Cross Society programmes.

While the Princess never remarried, her former husband went on to marry and divorce two more times. He has five more children by Sujarinee Vivacharawongse to whom he was briefly married between 1994 and 1996. She and their sons fled to the United States, while their daughter remained in Thailand and is known as Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana. He has a son, Crown Prince Dipangkorn with Srirasmi Suwadee, to whom he was married between 2001 and 2014.