Saudi Arabia’s Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal, widely known as the “Sleeping Prince,” has been in a coma for nearly 20 years following a car accident in 2005.
The prince, son of billionaire Prince Khaled bin Talal, reportedly slipped into a coma in 2005 following a car accident in the UK. At the time, he was a military student at a college in the UK.
As reported, he suffered a traumatic brain injury and has since been on life support at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, fed through a tube for the past two decades.
In 2015, ten years after the accident, doctors recommended disconnecting the life support, but his father refused, holding onto the hope for a miracle. “If God had wanted him to die in the accident, he would have been in his grave now,” he said.
In 2019, he reportedly showed slight signs of awareness, such as lifting a finger or moving his head, but has not shown any signs of improvement ever since.
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He marked his 36th birthday on April 18, 2025. Despite rumors that the Prince has fully regained his consciousness, no official statement has been released by the Saudi royal family or verified medical sources confirming these claims.
Though a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal is not a direct son or brother of the current monarch.
His grandfather, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was one of the many sons of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founding monarch of modern Saudi Arabia. This lineage makes Prince Al-Waleed a great-grandson of King Abdulaziz.
Meanwhile, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud—the current ruler—is also a son of King Abdulaziz, meaning he is Prince Al-Waleed’s great-uncle.
