SAEDNEWS: Prince Alwaleed bin Khalid bin Talal Al Saud, dubbed the “Sleeping Prince” after spending more than 20 years in a coma, has died at a Riyadh medical facility, ending a prolonged saga of hope and heartbreak.
According to Saed News, Saudi media confirmed that Prince Alwaleed bin Khalid, born in April 1990, passed away on Saturday, 19 July 2025 (28 Tir 1404), having never regained consciousness since a catastrophic car crash in 2005. The prince, then a promising cadet at the Kingdom’s military academy, suffered severe brain trauma that plunged him into a persistent vegetative state at the age of 15.
His father, Prince Khalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz—himself a prominent figure within the House of Saud—announced the death on his official X account, expressing gratitude for the “tireless devotion” of medical staff and the outpouring of public sympathy that endured throughout his son’s prolonged illness. Over the past two decades, the royal household periodically released images and videos documenting Alwaleed’s medical interventions, nurturing widespread empathy across Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world.
Medical experts note that long-term comas carry significant challenges: patients require continuous neurological monitoring, respiratory support, and intensive nursing care. Despite sporadic optimism voiced by family members, Alwaleed remained unresponsive, underscoring the limits of modern medicine when confronted with catastrophic brain injury.
The prince’s death not only marks the end of a young life suspended between hope and loss, but also serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of human health, even within the gilded corridors of royal privilege. As the kingdom observes customary mourning rites, questions linger over the emotional toll borne by his family and the broader implications for high-profile medical care in the region.
