The Moroccan Royal dynasty is regarded as a symbol of unity in Morocco. The current ruling dynasty of Morocco dates back to the 17th century. It is one of the oldest ruling dynasties in the world and is deeply rooted in the history of the country. Today, very few monarchies around the world can claim such a long history, but the Moroccan dynasty is certainly one of them.
The monarchs of Morocco belong to the Alawi dynasty and have used the designation of king since 1957. It is the country's most powerful office. The 2011 Constitution of Morocco defines the country as a constitutional monarchy, meaning the monarch exercises his authority in accordance with the constitution and is not the sole decision maker. However, the constitution still grants substantial discretionary powers to the monarch, such as having the final say on major policies and projects.
Alongside the historical roots symbolized by the title Emirat al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Faithful) is another component that explains the strong ties between the Monarch and the citizens. Emirat al-Mu’minin traces its roots to the Prophet Muhammed (PbuH). In the Kingdom of Morocco, Al biea’ is an annual ceremonial occasion, but more importantly it is a written contract on the duties of the Monarch and the obligations of the citizens.
Every year on Throne Day (July 30), delegations representing different regions, prefectures, and provinces of the kingdom as well as from abroad come together to renew their pledge of allegiance to the Monarch King Mohammed VI. It is this strong historic, spiritual, and symbolic bond between the Moroccan people and their Monarch that is argued to explain why many Moroccans, when faced with grievances nowadays, address the Monarch directly, seeking his interference and support.
Indeed, the Moroccan Monarch turned the Arab Spring into an opportunity. Unlike President Ben Ali, President Mobarak, Colonel Gaddafi, President Saleh, President Assad, and others, King Mohammed VI of Morocco initiated a reform of the constitution to further the democratization process in the Kingdom.
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Considering the Moroccan side, one can clearly observe a strong national consensus vis-a-vis the Sahara. What you find is not only a full involvement of the Royal Institution and the government, but also of all Moroccans in their diverse walks of life. An example to illustrate that strong national consensus among the Royal Institution and the Moroccans is one from the recent past: The Green March of 1975.
When King Hassan II called for 350,000 Moroccan volunteers to march peacefully into the Sahara to liberate it from Spanish colonialism, indeed, 2 million Moroccan volunteers were registered in the first few weeks. On November 6, 1975, Moroccans, in the hundreds of thousands, were marching peacefully crossing an artificial border that was installed by the Spanish colonial forces in 1884.
Map of Morocco
King Mohammed VI
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. He received an additional Certificate of Higher Specialized Studies in public law in 1988.
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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”. 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. On March 21, 2002, Mohammed married computer engineer Salma Bennani (now HRH Princess Lalla Salma) at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
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Princess Lalla Salma
Lalla Salma is the former wife of King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Salma Bennani was born on May 10, 1978, in Fez, Morocco. She was one of two daughters of Al-Haj Abdel Hamid Bennani, a school teacher, and Naima Bensouda. Salma Bennani was educated in private and public schools in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.
There she attended Lycée Hassan II, Lycée Moulay Youssef, and l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Informatique et d’Analyse de Systèmes (National School of Computer Science and Systems Analysis), where she received a degree in computer science and was her class valedictorian. Salma is fluent in Arabic, French, English, and Spanish.
In 1999, Salma met her future husband, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, at a private party. Reportedly, Salma set some ground rules, including insisting on a monogamous marriage as a condition for accepting the King’s proposal. King Mohammed’s father had two wives, as had many rulers of Morocco before him. On March 21, 2002, Salma Bennani married King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
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Although her predecessors were private figures, Lalla Salma became a public Islamic consort in the style of Queen Noor, the wife of King Hussein of Jordan, and Queen Rania, the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan. One of her major achievements was the founding in 2005 of the Lalla Salma Foundation - Prevention and Treatment of Cancers to raise public awareness of cancer.
With this organization, Lalla Salma organized the first national cancer registry and worked with many international partners in the fight against cancer. Lalla Salma represented Morocco at events around the world. Lalla Salma was noticeably absent from public appearances beginning in 2018.
A March 2018 article in the Spanish magazine Hola! mentioned that King Mohammed and Lalla Salma had divorced according to sources close to the palace, however, there was no formal announcement from the royal court. After the divorce, Lalla Salma remained in Morocco, living in the residential area of Rabat. She regularly visited the palace to see her children.
Children of King Mohammed VI and Lalla Salma
King Mohammed VI and Lalla Salma have two children:
- Crown Prince Moulay Hassan: Born on May 8, 2003, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco, he is the eldest child and the only son. After his primary education, Crown Prince Hassan attended the Royal Academy. He then switched schools and began attending the Preparatory College in Aeronautical Techniques in Marrakech, Morocco where he pursued his academic studies and pilot training. The Crown Prince completed his secondary education in the spring of 2020 and passed the 2020 baccalaureate exams with honors. During the 2020 - 2021 academic year, Hassan studied humanities and social sciences at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. Crown Prince Hassan made his first official public appearance in 2014 and was the youngest participant at the One Planet Summit in France in December 2017.
- Princess Lalla Khadija: She was born on 28 February 2007, four years after the birth of their eldest son, Crown Prince Moulay El-Hassan. In all her splendour, with her feminine presence and royal elegance, during her last appearances behind or at the side of King Mohammed VI, Lalla Khadija fascinated the whole of Morocco. In 2018, when she was eleven years old, the separation of her parents represented the big change that impacted Lalla Khadija's life. Lalla Khadija's cheerful nature is evident in her gaze, which does not hide her love for animals. Lalla Khadija's education at the Royal College is a combination of academic courses and cultural openness. Lalla Khadija's favourite sporting activities are horse riding and swimming, as well as archery. In December 2019, the 12-year-old inaugurated, alone, the nursery of the National Zoological Garden of Rabat; demonstrating that her first public engagement would be the beginning of an active and bright future.
King Mohammed VI
King Hassan II
King Hassan II of Morocco was born on July 9, 1929, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, then in the French Protectorate of Morocco. Hassan was educated at the Royal Academy, a school located at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Morocco. After completing his studies at the Royal Academy, Hassan earned a law degree from the University of Bordeaux in France.
In 1953, the French colonial authorities forced Hassan’s father, Sultan Mohammed V, an important national symbol in the growing Moroccan independence movement, into exile in Corsica, France along with his family. Mohammed V returned from exile in November 1955 and was again recognized as Sultan. Hassan participated in the February 1956 negotiations for Morocco’s independence with his father.
In March 1956, the French protectorate ended, and Morocco gained its independence from France as the Kingdom of Morocco. Upon the death of King Mohammed V on March 3, 1961, his son became Hassan II, King of Morocco. Morocco held its first general elections in 1963. However, Hassan declared a state of emergency and suspended parliament in 1965.
From the 1960s to the late 1980s, Morocco’s human rights record was extremely poor. In Morocco, those years are known as the Years of Lead. Thousands of dissidents were jailed, exiled, or disappeared. Due to pressure from other countries and human rights groups and the threat of international isolation, Hassan began to gradually democratize Morocco.
On July 23, 1999, King Hassan II of Morocco died, aged 70, from pneumonia in Rabat, Morocco. Over forty heads of state and other dignitaries attended his funeral including United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, American President Bill Clinton, former American President George H.W. Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and Prince Charles representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
King Hassan II was buried near the tomb of his father, King Mohammed V, in a massive mausoleum known as the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco.
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