By Dr Lubna Farah
Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, widely known in Arab media as the “Sleeping Prince”, died on 19 July 2025 at the age of 36, bringing to an end a medical and family ordeal that had lasted for around two decades.
His death was announced by his father, Prince Khaled bin Talal, and subsequently confirmed by the Saudi Royal Court. The official announcement stated that funeral prayers would be held on Sunday, 20 July 2025, after the Asr prayer at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.
The case had attracted exceptional public attention in Saudi Arabia and across the wider Arab world because of the length of Prince Al-Waleed’s condition, his young age when the accident occurred, and his family’s continued commitment to his care.
The 2005 Accident
Prince Al-Waleed’s life changed dramatically in 2005 after a serious road accident while he was studying at a military college in the United Kingdom.
Contemporary and later reports describe the accident as causing severe brain trauma and internal bleeding, after which he fell into a prolonged coma. He was subsequently treated in Saudi Arabia and remained under specialist medical care at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.
Reports differ in some biographical details, including the precise description of his military studies and the exact duration of the coma. What is consistently reported is that the accident occurred in 2005 and that he never returned to full consciousness before his death in 2025.
Two Decades Under Medical Care
For approximately twenty years, Prince Al-Waleed remained dependent on intensive medical support.
His case became particularly well known because photographs and short videos from his hospital room were occasionally shared by members of his family. These images showed him receiving medical care and, on some occasions, appearing to make limited physical movements.
One widely reported episode occurred in 2019, when footage appeared to show him moving his head and arm after many years in a coma. The footage generated renewed public hope, but there was no subsequent evidence that he had regained normal consciousness.
It is therefore important to distinguish between limited physical responses reported in videos and a return to consciousness. Available reporting before his death did not establish that he had awakened from the prolonged coma.
His Father’s Position
One of the most significant aspects of the story was the position taken by his father, Prince Khaled bin Talal.
For years, Prince Khaled continued to support the maintenance of his son’s medical care and rejected suggestions that life-support treatment should be withdrawn. Media reports have quoted him as expressing his belief that matters of life and death ultimately rested with God.
His position became an important part of the public narrative surrounding the case: the story was not only about a prolonged medical condition, but also about a father’s determination to continue caring for his son despite the passage of many years.
This aspect should be understood as Prince Khaled’s publicly expressed personal and religious position, rather than as a general medical or legal conclusion about life-support treatment.
The ‘Sleeping Prince’ in the Media
The expression “Sleeping Prince” became the name most commonly associated with Prince Al-Waleed in Saudi and international media.
The nickname reflected the unusual length of his unconscious state and the fact that he entered the condition as a young man and remained there for most of his adult life.
His story was repeatedly revisited on birthdays, during family updates and whenever photographs or videos were circulated online. In April 2025, for example, international and regional media reported on his 36th birthday and the continued public interest in his condition.
The story also became a frequent subject of social-media discussion. Supporters shared prayers for his recovery, while videos purporting to show signs of awakening sometimes circulated online.
Some of those claims were misleading. Before his death, fact-checking reports found that viral material claiming that the prince had finally awakened was not reliable evidence of such a recovery.
The Final Announcement
On Saturday, 19 July 2025, Prince Khaled bin Talal announced that his son had died.
The statement expressed grief and referred to faith in God’s decree. The announcement was subsequently followed by the Saudi Royal Court’s official confirmation.
The death marked the conclusion of a period that had lasted approximately twenty years — from the 2005 accident until July 2025.
Some reports described the period as 20 years, while others referred to more than 20 or approximately 21 years, depending on the dates used for the accident, hospitalisation and death. The safest description is therefore “around two decades” or “approximately twenty years”.
Funeral in Riyadh
According to the Royal Court announcement, funeral prayers were scheduled for Sunday, 20 July 2025, after the Asr prayer at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.
The funeral arrangements brought the story to its final public stage: a young man who had entered hospital following a catastrophic accident in 2005 was formally mourned two decades later.
Military Background
The military element of Prince Al-Waleed’s story has been repeatedly mentioned in media coverage.
Reports describe him as studying at a military college in the United Kingdom when the accident occurred. His age is reported differently in some sources, but many accounts place him at approximately 15–16 years old at the time of the accident.
This detail is significant because the accident interrupted his education and the future that had appeared to be developing for him. Rather than beginning a military career, his life became centred on prolonged medical treatment.
Political Dimension
There was no substantive political programme, political campaign or major policy dispute associated with Prince Al-Waleed’s medical case.
The story was principally humanitarian and familial rather than political.
However, because he belonged to the Saudi royal family, his case inevitably received attention from Saudi, Arab and international media. The public interest also reflected wider questions about medical ethics, long-term life support, family decision-making and religious beliefs concerning life and death.
Those issues should not be confused with evidence of a political dispute. The publicly documented record does not establish that his medical treatment became a political controversy involving the Saudi government.
Official and Media Statements
The principal official statements surrounding his death came from two sources:
Prince Khaled bin Talal:
His announcement conveyed personal grief and religious acceptance of God’s decree. Media outlets reproduced his announcement when reporting the death.
The Saudi Royal Court:
The Royal Court formally announced the death and provided the arrangements for the funeral prayer at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.
Regional and international media — including CNN Arabic, The National, Saudi Gazette and other outlets — subsequently reported on his death and revisited the history of his long coma.
Humanitarian and Social Significance
The significance of Prince Al-Waleed’s story was largely human rather than political.
For many people, it became a story about:
– a young person’s life being transformed by a sudden accident;
– the responsibilities of families caring for severely injured relatives;
– the emotional consequences of long-term unconsciousness;
– the role of faith during prolonged medical crises;
– the limits and possibilities of modern medical care;
– and the difficult questions surrounding long-term life support.
The family’s decision to continue caring for him for so many years also made the case particularly powerful in Saudi and Arab public discourse.
A Note on Medical Terminology
The phrase “coma for 20 years” is widely used by news organisations, but it should not automatically be interpreted as a precise medical diagnosis covering every year of his condition.
Public reporting has used several descriptions, including coma, prolonged unconsciousness and limited responsiveness. There has been no comprehensive publicly released medical record that would allow an independent assessment of the exact neurological diagnosis throughout the entire period.
Similarly, reports of finger, hand or head movements should not automatically be interpreted as proof of conscious communication. They were described in the media as signs that generated hope, but they did not establish a full neurological recovery.
Final Assessment
Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal’s story was one of the longest-running human-interest stories associated with a member of the Saudi royal family.
A serious accident in 2005 ended the normal course of his youth and education. For approximately two decades, his family remained involved in his care while the public followed occasional reports and images from his hospital room.
His father, Prince Khaled bin Talal, repeatedly expressed his determination to continue hoping for his son’s recovery. That position became inseparable from the public understanding of the case.
On 19 July 2025, the story reached its conclusion with the announcement of Prince Al-Waleed’s death at the age of 36. The Royal Court then announced the funeral arrangements for the following day in Riyadh.
For Saudi and Arab audiences, the legacy of the “Sleeping Prince” is therefore less about politics than about family, faith, medicine and the extraordinary passage of time: a young man whose life was interrupted by an accident, and whose family continued to remember him and care for him for nearly twenty years.
