by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2014
King Mohammad VI of Morocco; Credit – Wikipedia
Morocco Naming Conventions
- Lalla: meaning Lady is used by the royal family of Morocco for the wife, daughters, and sisters of the king and some other female relatives
- Moulay: meaning Lord is used by the royal family of Morocco for the sons and brothers of the king and some other male relatives
- Sharif/Sharifa(h): a traditional Arabic title meaning noble or highborn
King Mohammed VI of Morocco was born on August 21, 1963, in Rabat, the capital of the African country of Morocco. His parents were King Hassan II of Morocco and Princess Lalla Latifa Amahzoune.
King Mohammed has four siblings:
- Princess Lalla Meryem (born 1962), married Fuad Filali, had one daughter and one son
- Princess Lalla Asma (born 1965), married Khalid Bouchentouf, had one son and one daughter
- Princess Lalla Hasna (born 1967), married Dr. Khalil Benharbit, had two daughters
- Prince Moulay Rachid (born 1970), married Oum Kalthum Boufarès, had one son
King Mohammed began his education at the age of four when he was enrolled in the Koranic School at the Dâr-al-Makhzen in Rabat. He then attended the Collège Royal, a school located inside the Royal Palace in Rabat founded in 1942 that specializes in the education of princes and princesses of the Alaouite dynasty. The King completed his primary and secondary education at the Collège Royal in 1981. He then attended the Mohammed V University at Agdal and received a Bachelor’s Degree in law in 1985. In 1987, King Mohammed received a Certificate of Higher Specialized Studies in political sciences and he received an additional Certificate of Higher Specialized Studies in public law in 1988. The King received a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in law with distinction in 1993 from the Nice Sophia Antipolis University in Nice, France. The topic of his thesis was “Cooperation between the European Economic Community and the Arab Maghreb Union”. King Mohammed is fluent in Arabic, French, Spanish, and English.
On July 23, 1999, King Hassan II died and Mohammed became king. The ceremony of presenting allegiance to His Majesty King Mohammed took place on the same day in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Rabat. The enthronement ceremony took place on July 30, 1999. King Mohammed VI solemnly performed the Islamic Friday prayer and gave his first speech from the throne at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
BBC: Mohammed VI takes Moroccan throne
Embed from Getty Images
King Mohammed VI of Morocco delivers his enthronement speech
King Mohammed VI is the president of several charitable organizations including the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity whose motto is “Ready to help the needy.”
King Mohammed VI distributes food; Photo Credit – http://riadzany.blogspot.com
On March 21, 2002, Mohammed married computer engineer Salma Bennani (now HRH Princess Lalla Salma) at the Royal Palace in Rabat. Princess Lalla Salma has been noticeably absent from public appearances since the beginning of 2018. A March 2018 article in the Spanish magazine Hola! mentioned that King Mohammed and Princess Lalla Salma had divorced according to sources close to the palace but there has been no such announcement from the royal court.
Photo Credit – main.stylelist.com
The couple has two children:
- Crown Prince Moulay Hassan born on May 8, 2003
- Princess Lalla Khadija, born on February 28, 2007
Embed from Getty Images
King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his son Crown Prince Hassan at the international ceremony for the Centenary of the World War I Armistice of November 11, 1918
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