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BANGKOK: The body of the Thai king’s eldest daughter was brought to the royal palace in Bangkok on Saturday, as thousands of black-clad mourners lined the procession route.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha, known as Princess Bha, died aged 47 on Thursday following an abdominal infection. She had already spent more than three years in a coma due to a cardiac condition.
“When it comes to saying goodbye, it’s not easy for us,” mourner Donnapha Kladbupha, a 54-year-old English teacher and self-described royalist, said. The monarchy represented “unity” for Thai people during times of distress, she said.
Nearby, others queued for their turn to perform a Buddhist ritual of pouring holy water into a ceremonial bowl placed before a portrait of the princess. “I’m sad that she passed away, especially when I saw her pictures as a child,” another mourner, Nitikan Tephakham, 79, from the northeastern province of Roi Et, said.
