Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal was famously known as the ‘sleeping prince’, after he met with a tragic accident in 2005. After celebrating his 36th birthday on April 18, 2025, he passed away on July 19, 2025. He was in a coma for nearly 20 years of his life. His story proves that, despite having all the money and fame in the world, royalty cannot escape life’s hardships. However, it was his father who believed that his son would one day wake up from his deep slumber.
Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sleeping Prince’, the father refused to withdraw him from life support even after the doctors’ suggestion
Years before the Sleeping Prince died in a coma, a doctor advised his father, Prince Khaled bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, to remove life support from his son as he saw no development of his son regaining consciousness. But his father was adamant about continuing his treatment as he believed that one day his son would be back to him like a normal child. He gave a statement that if God wanted to take away his son, then he would be sitting in his grave and not in the hospital. He said:
“If God had wanted him to die in the accident, he would have been in his grave now.”
Not only this, the sleeping prince’s mother, Reema, also talked about feeling her son’s spirit present with them. According to further reports, the parents’ prayers were answered as he showed some signs of awareness, but this improvement stopped after a short time. Prince Al-Waleed exhibited slight signs of awareness by lifting a finger or moving his head, but these gestures did not indicate a return to consciousness. These documented moments offered glimmers of hope to the family, but his return to normal life ended with his death in 2025.
Sleeping Prince’s father shared the news of his death
Taking to his official social media handle, Prince Khaled bin Talal bin Abdulaziz confirmed the news of his son’s passing. He shared that the family is mourning their son, but they are assured that he has returned to God and has entered paradise. His post can be read as:
“O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter My Paradise… With hearts believing in Allah’s will and decree, and with deep sorrow, we mourn our beloved son.”
How did ‘Sleeping Prince’ slip into a coma?
Life is not fair to everyone. The sleeping prince of Saudi Arabia was living a normal life with the hope of taking forward his family legacy when he met with an unfortunate accident. He was studying at a military academy in London when his car had a severe accident, leaving him with a brain haemorrhage.
After the surgery, he was left in a vegetative state with no consciousness of his surroundings around the world. The reports also claim that his other friends, who were sitting in the same car, remained unharmed. According to a report by Roya News, the prince had been on a ventilator since then, and was fed through a feeding tube at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh for the past two decades.
We pray for strength for his family in these testing times!
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