Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, also known as Prince Moulay Rachid ben al-Hassan, GCVO, was born on 20 June 1970 in Rabat as the youngest male child of the late King Hassan II and his second wife, Lalla Latifa Hammou. He holds a doctorate in international politics and serves Morocco as a diplomat. He is currently second in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne.
Early life and education
Prince Moulay Rachid is the second son and fifth child of King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa Hammou. Prince Moulay Rachid has one older brother, King Mohammed VI, and three sisters, Princess Lalla Meryem, Princess Lalla Asma and Princess Lalla Hasna. After primary and secondary studies at the Royal College in Rabat and obtaining the Baccalauréat in June 1989, he entered Mohammed V University in Rabat to start his higher studies in Law. In May 1993, Prince Moulay Rachid obtained his Bachelor of Law majoring in economic and social law. The same year the Prince received his License to Practice Law – Public Law. On 29 June 1995, the Prince completed his graduate studies and received a Master of Law in Political Science. The Bosnia question was the subject of his research and the thesis that the Prince presented and supported publicly. In order to complete his training for his postgraduate education, in November 1993, the Prince started an internship with the United Nations in New York. On 18 May 2001, the Prince presented his doctorate thesis on the Organisation of the Islamic Conference at the Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, which merited a specific mention for the quality of his work. On 21 June 1996, the Prince successfully completed the written and oral tests for his postgraduate education and received a postgraduate Degree in International Relations.
As heir to the Moroccan throne
In 1999, after the death of his father and the enthronement of his brother King Mohammed VI, the prince became crown prince, but in 2003, this position was granted to his newborn nephew Moulay Hassan. The Prince is now second in line to the throne. In 1999, a few analysts like Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet argued that Moulay Rachid might be better suited for the job of the king than his brother. They expressed their concern that Mohammed VI might not have adequate expertise to deal with militant Islamists.
On 5 February 2008, Fouad Mourtada was arrested on suspicion of stealing the identity of Moulay Rachid by creating a fake profile on Facebook as a joke. Although the prince did not seek to press charges, on 23 February, Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in jail and fined 10,000 dirhams. After local protests and international criticism, Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon on 19 March 2008 just days before an appeal hearing.
Marriage
On 15 June 2014, he married his second cousin Oum Kalthum Boufarès. She is daughter of Moulay El Mamoun Boufarès, former Minister of Interior, and paternal granddaughter of Lalla Khadija. On 23 June 2016 their first child, a son, Moulay Ahmed was born.
