
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and his mother, Mona El-Solh, who passed away on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Photo posted on the Saudi prince's X account.
The Saudi Royal Court announced on Saturday, Jan. 4, the death of Princess Mona El-Solh, daughter of former Lebanese Prime Minister Riad El-Solh. She was the second wife of Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, from whom she later separated, and the mother of Saudi business tycoon Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, as well as Princess Rima and Prince Khaled.
“May God have mercy on my mother, Princess Mona Riad El-Solh,” Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal posted on X.
According to the Saudi Royal Court, the funeral will take place today, Sunday, after the afternoon prayer at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.
“The day she married in 1954, her mother-in-law [the mother of Prince Talal] gave her a tiara that had been gifted by King Abdulaziz on her own wedding day,” reported the Instagram account Arabian Royal Agency.
The agency added, “Princess Mona Riad El-Solh, a descendant of Lebanon’s El-Solh and Syria’s Al-Jabari families, was the younger sister of Princess Lamia. She married Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and later separated from him after having three children.”
"Lebanon is the most valuable legacy Mona Riad El-Solh inherited from her father, one of the founding fathers of independence and the head of its first government," journalist Ricardo Karam wrote on X. In a lengthy tribute to Mona El-Solh, the journalist recalled how the daughter of the Lebanese and Arab leader "defied norms, along with her sisters Alia and Lamia, when they walked behind their father's coffin in July 1951, the day after his assassination in Jordan." He also highlighted the late princess's "intelligence," "loyalty," "sense of humor" and "authenticity."
"A remarkable chapter closes. Her memory will remain vivid," Ricardo Karam concluded.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.