Musa'id bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Born26 June 1923
Died19 August 2013(2013-08-19) (aged 90)
SpouseWatfa bint Muhammad bin Talal Al Rashid
Fatima bint Hashim bin Turki
Issue
List
Names
Musa'id bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud
HouseAl Saud
FatherAbdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
MotherJawhara bint Saad bin Abdul Muhsin Al Sudairi

Musa'id bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (26 June 1923 – 19 August 2013) was the twelfth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He was a businessman[1] and the father of Faisal bin Musaid, the assassin of his half-brother King Faisal.

Early life

Musa'id was born in 1923. His father was King Abdulaziz and his mother was Jawhara bint Saad bin Abdul Muhsin Al Sudairi. Before marrying King Abdulaziz, Jawhara had been married to his full brother Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman until the latter's death in the Battle of Kanzan in 1915.[2] After Jawhara's death, her sister Haya also married Abdulaziz. She was the mother of Prince Badr, Prince Abdul Majid and Prince Abdul Illah.

Musa'id had two full brothers, Prince Saad and Prince Abdul Muhsin, and one full sister, Princess Al Bandari.[3]

Personal life

Prince Musa'id's son Faisal murdered King Faisal, a half-brother of Musa'id.

Following the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, Musa'id and his brothers began to live in several European cities, including Paris and London among the others.[4] During this period Musa'id was caught in an inappropriate manner in Paris and was immediately sent to Saudi Arabia.[4] His father, King Abdulaziz, confined Musa'id to the palace which made their relations negative decreasing the latter's potential chance to rule the country.[4]

Musa'id married Watfa, a daughter of Muhammad bin Talal, the 12th (and last) Rashidi emir. Their son Faisal bin Musaid was born in Riyadh on 4 April 1944. He subsequently divorced Watfa. His sons and daughters by Watfa were much closer to their maternal Rashidi relatives than their paternal relatives, Al Sauds.[5]

In 1965, Musa'id son Khaled, who was a fervent Wahhabite,[6] was killed during a Riyadh protest against the introduction of television in Saudi Arabia.[7] The details of his death are disputed. Some reports allege that he died resisting arrest outside his own home.[5] No investigation over his death was ever initiated.

Musa'id had another son, Bandar, and a daughter, Al Jawhara. Prince Bandar became a member of the Allegiance Council in May 2014.[8] He also had another son Abdul Rahman bin Musaid from a subsequent marriage. Abdullah bin Musa'id, another son, is a businessman and the owner of Sheffield United.[9]

Assassination of King Faisal

On 25 March 1975 Musa'id's son Faisal went to the Royal Palace in Riyadh, where King Faisal was holding a majlis. He joined a Kuwaiti delegation and lined up to meet the king. The king recognized his nephew and bent his head forward, so that the younger Faisal could kiss the king's head in a sign of respect. The prince took out a revolver from his robe and shot the King twice in the head. His third shot missed and he threw the gun away. King Faisal fell to the floor. Bodyguards with swords and submachine guns arrested the prince. The king was quickly rushed to a hospital but doctors failed to save him.[10]

Initial reports described Prince Faisal as "mentally deranged." He was moved to a Riyadh prison. He was deemed sane to be tried.[11] He was found guilty of murder. Hours after the verdict, he was publicly decapitated in Riyadh. The assassin's brother Bandar was also imprisoned, but was released a year later.[5]

Later life

Prince Musa'id did not hold any significant administrative positions and hence he was sidelined for the throne. The involvement of his son Faisal in the assassination of King Faisal could also have weakened his position. In addition he seemingly never sought one. He gradually lost his eyesight after the death of his first son, Khalid. He lived an austere private life where he was known to be pious.

Death

The Royal Diwan announced that Prince Musa'id had died on 19 August 2013.[12] He was the second eldest living son of King Abdulaziz at the time of his death next only to Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It was announced that funeral prayers for the late prince would be held at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh the next day and a three-day mourning period was also declared.[13]

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Ayman Al Yassini (August 1982). The Relationship between Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PhD thesis). McGill University. OCLC 896879684.
  2. ↑ "Appendix 6. The Sons of Abdulaziz" (PDF). Springer. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Joseph A. Kechichian (2001). Succession In Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-312-23880-3.
  4. 1 2 3 Jennifer Bond Reed (2006). The Saudi Royal Family (Modern World Leaders). New York: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 42–43. ISBN 9780791092187.
  5. 1 2 3 Madawi Al Rasheed (1991). Politics in an Arabian Oasis. The Rashidis of Saudi Arabia. New York: I. B. Tauirs & Co. Ltd. pp. 251–252. ISBN 9781860641930.
  6. ↑ Tariq Ali (2001). "Kingdom of corruption: Keeping an eye on the ball: the Saudi connection". Index on Censorship. 30: 14–18. doi:10.1080/03064220108536972.
  7. ↑ Alexander Bligh (1985). "The Saudi religious elite (Ulama) as participant in the political system of the kingdom". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 17: 37–50. doi:10.1017/S0020743800028750. S2CID 154565116.
  8. ↑ "Undermining the Sudairi clan: The king manages the power struggle". Al Akhbar. 16 May 2014. ProQuest 1525067633. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Blades owner Prince Abdullah open to business with bin Laden family". Reuters. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: The death of a desert monarch". Time. 7 April 1975. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Faisal's lawyer Will Stand Trial Archived 20 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 31 March 1975: 2. Print.
  12. ↑ "Saudi Arabia announces demise of Prince Musad bin Abdulaziz". Kuwait News Agency. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Prince Musaed bin Abdul Aziz passes away". Arab News. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
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