Morocco’s Princess Lalla Latifa, Mother of King Mohammed VI, Dies at Royal Palace

"The spokesman of the Royal Palace announces, with immense sadness and deep affliction, the death of HRH Princess Lalla Latifa, may God have her in His Holy Mercy, this Saturday, June 22, 1445 H corresponding to June 29, 2024, wife of the late His Majesty King Hassan II, may God have his soul, and mother of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him and preserve him, and Their Royal Highnesses the Princes and Princesses," says the note released by the official MAP agency.

An official Moroccan source told the EFE agency that Lalla Latifa died in Rabat, although she has resided in Paris since the death of Hassan II in 1999. She had been suffering from health problems for years, during which the Moroccan monarch regularly went to see her in the French capital.

After the announcement, Moroccan television and radio stations suspended their programming to broadcast the Quran, as is customary in Morocco.

Lalla Latifa, of Berber origin and born in 1946, was known for her discretion and her life away from the public, but she was a respected and beloved figure within the Alaouite kingdom, the same source specifies. In fact, she never appeared in an official photo during Hassan II’s reign and had the title of princess, not queen.

She was Hassan II’s second wife, and had five children with the monarch: Lala Mariam, the current King Mohamed VI, Lala Asma, Lala Hasna and Prince Moulay Rachid.