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Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco (born 20 June 1970) is a member of the Alawi dynasty. He is the younger brother of King Mohammed VI and the youngest child of the late King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa. He is currently second in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne, after his nephew Crown Prince Moulay Hassan.
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Prince Moulay Rachid is the second son, fifth and youngest child of King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa Hammou. Prince Moulay Rachid has four older siblings, Princess Lalla Meryem, King Mohammed VI, Princess Lalla Asma and Princess Lalla Hasna.
After primary and secondary studies at the Royal College in Rabat and obtaining his Baccalauréat in June 1989, he entered Mohammed V University in this very city to start his higher studies in law. In May 1993, Prince Moulay Rachid obtained his Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) majoring in economic and social law. The same year the Prince received his License to Practice Law – Public Law. In 1994, he was promoted to the rank of Senior colonel of the Royal Navy.[1] On 29 June 1995, the Prince completed his graduate studies and received a Master of Law (LL.M.) 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 21 June 1996, the Prince successfully completed the written and oral tests for his postgraduate education and received a postgraduate Degree in International Relations.
In July 2000, he obtained the rank of Brigadier general of the Royal Navy. 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.[2]
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In 1999, Moulay Rachid became crown prince following the death of his father and the enthronement of his brother King Mohammed VI. Analysts Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet argued that Moulay Rachid was better suited for the throne than his brother, expressing concern that Mohammed VI might not have adequate expertise to deal with militant Islamists.[3] After the birth of his nephew Moulay Hassan in 2003, Moulay Rachid became second in the line of succession.
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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 (~US$1,350).[4] After local protests and international criticism, Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon on 19 March 2008 just days before an appeal hearing.[5][6]
Moulay Rachid occasionally serves Morocco as a diplomat, representing his brother King Mohammed VI at foreign engagements. On 22 October 2019, he attended the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito of Japan.[7] On 19 September 2022, Rachid attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[8][9]
On 7 November 2022, Rachid attended the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.[10][11][12]
On 20 December 2022, Moulay Rachid, along with King Mohammed VI and Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, received the members of the Moroccan national football team at the Royal Palace in Rabat, following their performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[13][14]
On 7 December 2024, Moulay Rachid attended the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, which underwent reconstruction following the 2019 fire.[15]
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On 15 June 2014 he married his second cousin Oum Kalthum Boufarès, who is daughter of Moulay El Mamoun Boufarès, former Minister of Interior, and paternal granddaughter of Lalla Khadija (a sister of Mohammed V).[16] Their marriage was publicly celebrated in November at the Royal Palace of Rabat.[17] His wife, henceforth Lalla Oum Kalthum, was granted the title of Princess and the status of Royal Highness by King Mohammed VI on 8 June 2017.[18][19] Their first child, a son, Prince Moulay Ahmed was born on 23 June 2016.[20] A second child, Prince Moulay Abdeslam, was born on 1 June 2022.[21] As Moulay Rachid is second in line to the throne, his sons are respectively third and fourth in line.
On 14 October 2022, Moulay Rachid tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently missed the state opening of parliament for that year.[22]
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National honors
Morocco: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne
Foreign honors
Bahrain: Grand Cordon of the Order Al Khalifa (2001)
Belgium: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (5 October 2004)
Denmark: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (6 February 1988)[23]
Equatorial Guinea: Grand Cross of the National Order of Independence (2009)
France: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit
Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (18 March 1997)[24]
Mexico: Grand Cross (Cruz) of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (11 February 2005)
Pakistan: First Class of the Order of Excellence (19 July 2003)
Portugal: Grand Cross of the Military Order of Aviz (13 August 1998)[25]- Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (26 March 1993)[26]
Saudi Arabia: First Class of the Order of King Abdulaziz (2007)
Spain: Knight of the Collar of the Order of Civil Merit (22 September 1989)[27]
Tunisia: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic (31 May 2014)[28]
United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (14 July 1987)
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