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Saudi ‘Sleeping Prince’ Died: Prince Alwaleed bin Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, popularly referred to as Saudi Arabia's 'Sleeping Prince', has died after spending nearly two decades in a coma since a fatal car accident in 2005. He was 36 years old. The Royal Court confirmed late Saturday that the prince had died, closing an emotional chapter for the Saudi royal family and thousands of people who had tracked his tale of unshakeable hope and faith.

Who Was Saudi Arabia's 'Sleeping Prince'?

Prince Alwaleed bin Khaled bin Talal was the firstborn son of Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud and the nephew of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. He was also the grandson of Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, hence a great-grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud. In 2005, he was 15 years old and was studying in London as a military cadet when he was in a bad car accident. The accident gave him a bad brain hemorrhage and internal trauma, leaving him in a coma from which he never fully recovered.

The prince has been in a minimally conscious state since the accident, under continuous medical supervision at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh. Even after consultations with leading neurologists and intensive care specialists from the US and Spain, there was no significant improvement. In the years that followed, videos of small movements — including him supposedly moving his fingers at the sound of his father's voice — would periodically emerge online, stirring hope throughout the Arab world. Prince Khaled bin Talal famously defied doctors' recommendations that he remove life support, instead deciding to have faith in God's will. "If Allah wanted him to die, he would have died that day," the bereft father once said in an interview with local media.

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Funeral Prayers and Mourning Period

The Global Imams Council, in a statement, conveyed its sympathy, commending the patience of the family as an expression of deep faith. "As we mourn with the Royal Family on this somber day, we remember with profound respect the patience and firmness shown by Prince Khaled bin Talal and his family, a reflection of their deep belief in the will and decree of Allah," the statement said.

Funeral prayers for Prince Alwaleed will take place on Sunday, July 20, following the Asr prayer at Riyadh's Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque. Men and women will have separate condolence gatherings, which will go on until Tuesday.
• Men's condolence gathering: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Palace, Al-Fakhariya
• Women's condolence gathering: Al-Fakhariya Palace, the house of Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz

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Members of the royal family, officials, and citizens alike are to come out in a show of solidarity during the prayers and pay their respects to the prince who has become a symbol of resistance and paternal love. Prince Alwaleed bin Khaled bin Talal's tale has moved millions throughout Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. His father's decades of bedside vigil have come to be regarded universally as a testament to faith, to love, and to determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. His death now brings to an end a moving chapter that will be remembered for the family's unshakable hope and profound religious belief.