Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (1875–1953), the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia, also called Ibn Saud, was very young when he first got married. However, his wife died shortly after their marriage. Ibn Saud remarried at eighteen and his firstborn child was Prince Turki I.[1] He had 45 sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood and had children of their own.[2] He also had many daughters. He is thought to have had 22 wives.[3]
Wives and their children
This is a list of the first generation of offspring of Ibn Saud, of which there are 72, sorted by his numerous wives. Many of the sons of Ibn Saud served in prominent leadership positions in Saudi Arabia including all of the nation's monarchs since his death. Those who served as King are in bold.
Wadha bint Muhammad Al Orair
Wadha bint Muhammad Al Orair (d. 4 May 1969) was the daughter of Muhammed and Abta Sardah.[4][5] She belonged to the Bani Khalid tribe,[6][7][8][9][10] which ruled Eastern Arabia for a long time[11][12] and was the most powerful tribe in this region during the late 18th century.[13]
Some reports state she is from the Qahtan tribe.[6][14][15][16][17] Wahda married Abdulaziz in Kuwait in 1896, and they had at least five children:[18][19]Prince Turki, King Saud, Prince Khalid, Prince Abdullah and Princess Mounira.
Crown Prince from 1932; King (1953–1964), Deposed and exiled.
Khalid (I)
1902–1909
Munira
She married her full first cousin Fahd, the son of her paternal full uncle Sa'ad Al Abd al-Rahman[22] and daughter of her stepmother. She also married Khalid bin Muhammad bin Abd al Rahman Al Abd al Rahman the son of her uncle and her stepmother's sister Sara bint Abdullah Al Sheikh. He died in 1972.[citation needed]
Of them, Prince Khalid and Prince Abdullah died young.[9]
Wadha's sister, Hussa, first married the Kuwaiti ruler Mubarak Al Sabah and then, following her divorce from Mubarak, she also married Abdulaziz.[23] In her lifetime Wadha witnessed the death of her five children.[9] She died in Riyadh on 4 May 1969, shortly after the death of King Saud in Athens.[9]
Al-Jawhara was reputedly Ibn Saud's favorite wife, whose early death in 1919 (due to the Spanish influenza epidemic) was deeply mourned by him. In 1951, more than 30 years after her death, Ibn Saud is reported to have said that he had had many wives, but his only love had been Al Jawhara. Ibn Saud and Al Jawhara bint Musaed Al Jiluwi had three children.
nicknamed Abu Al-Sharayn ("Father of the two evils"); held many ministries under his father and older brother Saud. Led revolt against Saud and was briefly de jure Crown Prince before ceding the job to his full brother Khalid.
He was excluded from all positions due to a scandal during his governorship.[33]
Jawhara bint Saad bin Abdul Muhsin Al Sudairi
Jawhara bint Saad Al Sudairi was the sister of Haya bint Saad Al Sudairi, who was another wife of Ibn Saud.[34] While Jawhara and Haya are sisters hailing from the al-Sudairi family, they are not sisters of Hassa al-Sudairi, who is the mother of the "Sudairi Seven" (see below). Jawhara bore Ibn Saud the following children:
Ibn Saud and Hassa had eleven surviving children, being seven sons and four daughters; two other children may have died in infancy. Their seven sons are known as the "Sudairi Seven," a powerful group of full brothers. Two of their sons became kings of Saudi Arabia. Their children were:
Sa'ad (I) Robert Lacey in his book The Kingdom states that Princess Hassa actually mothered Sa'ad which is also said by other sources. He was born in 1913 and died in 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic.
Fahd (II) (1921 – 1 August 2005); King (1982–2005)
She was the widow of Saud bin AbdulazizAl Rashid, tenth Emir of the Rashidi Emirate which was overthrown by Ibn Saud. By her former husband, Fahda was the mother of at least two sons. She bore three children to Ibn Saud, and died when the eldest among them, the future king Abdullah, was only six years old. Her children with Ibn Saud were:
Abdullah (1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015); King (2005–2015)
Haya bint Saad (1913 – 18 April 2003) was the sister of Jawhara bint Saad Al-Sudairi, another wife of Ibn Saud.[43] However, she and Jawhara were not sisters of Hassa Al-Sudairi, yet another wife of Al-Saud and mother of the "Sudairi Seven." Haya bore Ibn Saud the following children:
Nouf and Ibn Saud married in November 1935.[47] She was the granddaughter of the tribal chief Nuri Al Shalaan.[48] Her sister married Crown Prince Saud in April 1936.[49]
Jiluwi (II) (1952–1952); the youngest son of Ibn Saud but died as an infant.[citation needed]
Grandchildren
Ibn Saud has approximately a thousand grandchildren.[50] The following is a select list of notable grandsons in the male line. They will be in the line of succession to the Saudi Arabian throne.
Badr bin Mohammed – Member of Allegiance council.[51]
Khalid Al Faisal (born 1940) – poet, governor of the Makkah Province (2007—2013) and (2015—present) and managing director of the King Faisal Foundation. Minister of education between December 2013 and January 2015.
Turki Al Faisal (born 1945) – Head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Directorate from 1977 to 2001. Former ambassador to the US until December 2006. Member of the board of trustees for the King Faisal Foundation.
Mansour bin Saud Al Saud (born 1947) – Commander of the National Guard (1961—1963). Chief of the royal court (1963—1964). Businessman
Fahd bin Badr – Former Governor of Al Jawf Region (2002—2018). Advisor to King Salman since 2018.
Khalid bin Sultan (born 1949) – Deputy minister of defense from November 2011 to 20 April 2013.[53] Chair of board of trustees of Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation.
Bandar bin Sultan (born 1949) – Former long-serving ambassador to the US; secretary-general of the National Security Council from October 2005 to January 2015 and director-general of the Saudi Intelligence Agency from 19 July 2012 to 2014.
Saud bin Nayef (born 1956) – Governor of Eastern Province (2013—present); former head of the Court of Crown Prince (2011 – 13 January 2013), former Saudi ambassador to Spain and deputy governor of the Eastern Province.
Saif al-Islam bin Saud Al Saud (born 1956) professor at King Saud University.
Sultan bin Salman (born 1956) – Former astronaut (1985), secretary general of the supreme commission for tourism since 2000,[54] and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission with the rank of minister since 2018.
Ahmed bin Sultan (born 1983) — philanthropist, businessman, and composer
Faisal bin Nawaf (born 1984) — the Governor of Al Jawf (December 2018—present)
Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985) – Minister of Defense (January 2015-September 2022), Crown Prince since June 2017 and Prime Minister since September 2022.
Majed bin Abdullah (born 1985) – Convicted of cocaine use.[citation needed]
Khalid bin Salman (born 1988) – Ambassador to the United States (2017-2019), Deputy Minister of Defense (2019-2022) and Minister of Defense since September 2022
Saad bin Saud Al Saud (1924–1977) — Deputy emir of the Northern province (1954—1961) and Asir (1969—1977) and commander of the National Guard (1959—1963)
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (1924–1997) — former Governor of Mecca (1961—1963), Ambassador to Spain (1975–1997)[citation needed]
Khalid bin Saud (1925–2020) — commander of the National Guard (1957—1959)
Musaid bin Saud Al Saud (1927-2012) mayor of Tabuk (1937-1941) and (1958-1964), Ambassador to Kuwait (1941-1949), Deputy Minister of defense and aviation (1949-1958), head of the Department for the care of orphans (1964-1998).
Mohammed bin Mishaal Al Saud (1947—2005) son of Prince Mishaal
Abdul Rahman bin Nasser (1947—2022) Governor of Al-Kharj (2001–2021)
Turki bin Nasser (1948—2021) Former head of the presidency of meteorology and environment (PME). Former state minister for environmental issues in Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah bin Mohammad, son of Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman (Ibn Saud's half-brother) and Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi (Ibn Saud's wife). This makes him the double step-son and half-nephew of Ibn Saud. He also married Noura bint Saud, the granddaughter of Ibn Saud through his son King Saud, making him a grandson-in-law of Ibn Saud. Father of the below
Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki (1961–2002) – Son of Luluwah bint Abdulaziz Al Saud and Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud. Killed in a car accident on way to cousin Ahmed bin Salman's funeral.
Saud bin Khalid bin Abdullah – Deputy chairman of the board of Directors of Al-Mawarid Holding Company and Vice-chairman of the board of directors of the Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network. Son of Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz Al Saud and Khalid ibn Abdullah, son of Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman, half-brother of Ibn Saud.
Turki bin Abdullah – Former member of the National Guard and advisor to King Abdullah. Son of Seeta bint Abdulaziz Al Saud and Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabir Al Saud.[citation needed]
^ abIbn Saud incorporated the kingdoms of Nejd and Hejaz into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 23 September 1932. Thereafter, he reigned as King of Saudi Arabia until his death in 1953.
^In addition to their political role, the rulers of the Al Saud family also held religious authority over their subjects, holding the title of imam.
^"AL-SAUD FAMILY (Saudi Arabia)". European Institute for research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab cooperation. MEDEA INSTITUTE. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
^Henderson, Simon (1994). "After King Fahd"(Policy Paper). Washington Institute. Archived(PDF) from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
^Henderson, Simon (1994). "After King Fahd"(Policy Paper). Washington Institute. Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.