Sara bint Talal Al Saud (Arabic: سارة بنت طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) is a Saudi princess and the daughter of Prince Talal.
| Sara bint Talal Al Saud | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| House | Al Saud | ||||
| Father | Talal bin Abdulaziz | ||||
| Mother | Moudie bint Abdul Mohsen Al Angari | ||||
Background and family
editSara bint Talal was raised in Riyadh in the household of her father.[1] Her mother, Moudie bint Abdul Mohsen Al Angari (died 2008), was the third wife of Prince Talal.[2] Sara has a full-brother, Turki bin Talal. Among her half-brothers is the notorious plutocrat, Al Waleed.[2]
Sara was nicknamed "little Barbie" because of her beauty and her fondness for material well-being, but she was educated by a strict English governess.[1] After studies at the King Saud University in Riyadh, she married a royal cousin, but got divorced when still in her twenties.[1] She is the mother of four children.
Activities
editIn the mid-2000s, Princess Sara was reported to be running a local charity, namely Down's Syndrome Riyadh charity, in Saudi Arabia.[3][4]
Political asylum request
editAfter Crown Prince Abdullah became king in August 2005, she stated that her father was also a contender for the Saudi throne.[5] She also told the AFP "We, the Saudi people, want a clearer mechanism for succession... All (members of the royal family) agreed on Crown Prince Abdullah, given that he is the eldest and best qualified. Prince Sultan was also agreed upon to become crown prince. But what happens next?"[3] She accompanied her father while he was ambassador to UNICEF, visiting refugee camps.[6] However, she later had a falling out with her father. BBC reports that she has been living in the United Kingdom since 2007 with her four children.[6] The reason was reported to be a conflict with her father, and she told the press "my father wanted to crush me."[2][7] The quarrel with her father led her to be protected by her uncle, the late Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, a rival of her father, until his death in June 2012.[1] Within a month of Nayef's death, Sara sought political asylum for herself and for her children in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2012, claiming fear from political threats on her family.[1] It was the first case of a senior member of the Saudi ruling family seeking political asylum.[8] Immediately after her request for political asylum, and apparently in order to improve her credentials to get asylum, Princess Sara told the press that she wanted to see reform in Saudi Arabia and wanted to fight against corruption in that country.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Hugh Miles; Robert Mendick (7 July 2012). "Saudi Arabia's Princess Sara claims asylum in the UK". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "Royal rivalries force princess into exile; Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz claims political asylum in Britain". The Ottawa Citizen. 9 July 2012. ProQuest 1024460632. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ a b Ali Khalil (1 August 2005). "Ageing Saudi leadership keeps succession question alive". Lebanonwire. Dubai. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ Caroline Montagu (2010). "Civil Society and the Voluntary Sector in Saudi Arabia". Middle East Journal. 64 (1): 67–83. doi:10.3751/64.1.14. JSTOR 20622983. S2CID 143572307.
- ^ "Prince Talal hails smooth transition of power". Middle East Online. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Saudi Arabia's Princess Sara in UK asylum claim". BBC. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ "My father wanted to crush me, claims Saudi princess seeking UK asylum". Daily Bhaskar. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Saudi's 'Barbie' princess makes shock UK asylum bid". AFP. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ Afif Diab (19 July 2012). "Sarah bint Talal: Voiceless in the Kingdom". Al Akhbar. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
