After a catastrophic vehicle accident in London, Prince Al Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, 36, the Saudi royal known as the “Sleeping Prince,” passed away after spending 20 years in a coma.
Earlier today, July 19, Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, his father, released a touching message on đť•Ź announcing the devastating news.
He added, “With hearts full of faith in Allah’s will and decree, and with great sorrow and sadness, we mourn our beloved son: Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away today.”
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While studying in the UK as a military cadet, Prince Al Waleed was involved in an accident that left him with severe brain trauma and internal bleeding, which caused him to go into a coma at the age of 15.
His family stayed optimistic and refused to remove him from life support, keeping a careful eye on him for more than 20 years in spite of the physicians’ pessimistic predictions.
In 2020, the kingdom experienced a brief moment of optimism when a video appeared that appeared to show the prince lifting his fingers slightly in response to a voice. This gave the country and his family hope that he may recover.
Princess Noura bint Talal Al Saud posted the video, which showed a woman comforting the prince at his bedside and saying, “Habibi, hello.” Hi, hi, let me see.
He gave a small hand gesture in response, which was the first and only indication of consciousness he had shown in years.
But that glimmer of hope for healing never materialized.
The late prince’s funeral prayers will take place at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh on Sunday.
Local reports state that following Dhuhr prayers, a special women’s prayer service will be held at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. There will be three days of mourning till Tuesday.
