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Lalla Latifa Amahzoune

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Princess Hajja Lalla Latifa (Arabic: الحاجة للا لطيفة;[1][2][3] born Amahzoune, 1943/1944 – 29 June 2024) was the wife of King Hassan II of Morocco, and the mother of Princess Lalla Meryem, King Mohammed VI, Princesses Lalla Asma and Lalla Hasna, and Prince Moulay Rachid.[4][5][6]

Latifa Amahzoune
Princess Dowager of Morocco
Born1943/1944
Khenifra, Morocco
Died29 June 2024 (aged 79–81)
Rabat, Morocco
Burial
Moulay El Hassan Mausoleum
Dar al-Makhzen, Rabat
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1961; died 1999)​

​
(m. 2000)​
IssuePrincess Lalla Meryem
King Mohammed VI
Princess Lalla Asma
Princess Lalla Hasna
Prince Moulay Rachid
FatherHassan ould Mouha ou Hammou Zayani

Biography

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Latifa was born under the name Latifa Amahzoune in 1943 or 1944 in Khenifra.[7][8] Lalla Latifa was of the Zayane tribe and came from an important Amazigh family.[9] She was the daughter of a provincial governor;[10] her father was Hassan ould Mouha ou Hammou Zayani, Pasha of Khenifra and Adel of the Zayanes.[11] Her grandfather was the famous Mouha ou Hammou Zayani.[12] She married Hassan II on 9 November 1961[13] in a double nuptial ceremony with Lalla Lamia as-Solh,[13] the bride of Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco.[14]

Latifa was the maternal half-sister of General Mohamed Medbouh (the latter's father being of the Gzennaya Riffian tribe), who co-organized and died – after a squabble with Ababou, one of the coup leaders[15] – during the 1971 failed coup d'état attempt against Hassan II, which took place during the King's forty-second birthday party in his summer palace.[16][17]

Latifa never held a public role in the royal family, per peculiar protocol.[1][7] She was referred to by the Moroccan media as the "mother of the royal children".[18]

From 2000, Latifa lived in France,[19] where she possessed a residence in Neuilly-sur-Seine, and often returned to Morocco.[20][21]

In 2005, she performed the Hajj pilgrimage accompanied by her friends as well as Khaled Al-Samadi, former Secretary of State in charge of higher education and scientific research, and Dr. Muhammad Al-Sarrar, a professor at the Faculty of Sharia in Fez.[3] Al-Samadi posthumously described her as very patient during Arafat's descent to perform Tawaf al-Ifadah like all other pilgrims, without seeking the aid of any special security protocols. He adds that Lalla Latifa was the pinnacle of humility, mercy, gentleness, generosity and extreme concern to perform every detail of the Hajj rituals until she performed them completely with perseverance and patience.[3]

In 2019, she settled permanently in Morocco, in Marrakesh.[22]

Private life

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She married Hassan II on 9 November 1961,[13] during a double nuptial ceremony with Lamia Al Solh, the bride of her brother-in-law, Prince Moulay Abdallah. She was from that point on styled Her Highness Princess Lalla Latifa.[1][23] Five children were born from their union:[14]

After Hassan's death, Latifa remarried in May 2000 to Mohamed Mediouri,[24][25][26][27][28] Hassan II's bodyguard and former security chief of the royal palace.[26][29]

Tribute

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In 2018, King Mohammed VI inaugurated the "Mosque of H.H. Princess Lalla Latifa" in Salé in her honor.[23] It is in Hay Essalam and has an area of 1,200 square meters.[30] It has the capacity to accommodate more than 1,800 worshippers. It also has a Koranic school, two prayer rooms, and accommodation for the imam and the muezzin.[30] The design of the mosque is a combination of traditional Andalusian architecture with a modern addition.[30]

Death

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Lalla Latifa died in Rabat, Morocco on 29 June 2024.[31][a] A private funeral took place the same day at the Moulay el-Hassan Mausoleum, located within the grounds of the Royal Palace of Rabat.[32] The United Kingdom's embassy and consulate in Morocco lowered its flag to half-mast in her tribute.[33] The United Arab Emirates and Algeria were among the first countries to present their condolences to the monarch, her son King Mohammed VI.[34][35] No events were cancelled following her death.[36]

Titles

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  • 9 November 1961 – 23 July 1999: Her Highness Princess Lalla Latifa.
  • 23 July 1999 – 29 June 2024: Her Highness Princess Lalla Latifa, Dowager Princess (de facto and de jure).
  • posthumously: Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Latifa.[37]

Notes

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  1. ^ Many news sources mislabel her age as "78".

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Hassan II du Maroc invité de "L'Heure de Vérité" | Archive INA". YouTube (in French). 23 July 2019. From 1:06:30s to 1:07:30s. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023. Journalist: Why don't we know the Queen of Morocco ? King Hassan II's response: ... there has never been a Queen ... when I have the opportunity to present the mother of princes who bears the title of Princess [but who] not that of Queen. Who has no political activity ... I present her very normally because I believe that she is, that she is well brought up, that she is very presentable ...
  2. ^ Aissa Amourag (17 October 2008). "Une escroquerie presque parfaite". MarocHebdo. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "وزير سابق رافق الأميرة للا لطيفة للعمرة والحج: كان تدينها قويا وتواضعها شديدا". اليوم 24 – أخبار اليوم على مدار الساعة (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 July 2024. Regarding his accompanying the mother of King Mohammed VI to perform the Umrah and Hajj rituals in 2005, Al-Samadi explained that he was honored, along with Dr. Muhammad Al-Sarrar, a professor at the Faculty of Sharia in Fez, upon assignment by the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, to accompany Her Royal Highness the Honorable Lalla Latifa, the mother of His Majesty the King. "In performing the rituals of Umrah and Hajj."
  4. ^ (24 July 1999). Morocco's King Hassan dies, aged 70 Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Independent Online (South Africa)
  5. ^ (27 March 1989). Royal Treat for Maggie Archived 22 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Evening Times
  6. ^ (15 February 2009). Prohibido publicar fotos de la madre de Mohamed VI (Forbidden to publish photographs of Mohamed VI's mother), El País (in Spanish)
  7. ^ a b "Muere Lalla Latifa, la madre de Mohamed VI, el Rey de Marruecos". ABC (in Spanish). 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  8. ^ Images, Historic. "1962 Press Photo Morocco's King Hassan II with his infant daughter, Mariam". Historic Images. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024. Morocco's King Hassan II visited his daughter, Mariam, who was born in a Rome clinic. Announcement of the infant's birth was the first word that the king had married a commoner. The Moroccan embassy in Rome said she is Latifa, 18, daughter of a Berber chieftain.
  9. ^ Reich, Bernard (21 February 1990). Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-313-26213-5. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  10. ^ Mack, Beverley; Boyd, Jean (23 September 2013). Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793–1864. Kube Publishing Ltd. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-84774-061-8. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023. Hassan II (r.1961-99), on his accession, married Lalla Latifa, the daughter of a provincial governor
  11. ^ Bulletin des études arabes: (intermédiaire des arabisants) (in French). Swets and Zeitlinger. 1966. p. 29. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023. Hassan ould Moha ou Hammou, Adel of the Zaïanes, Pacha de Khenifra
  12. ^ occidentale (France), Laboratoire d'anthropologie et de préhistoire des pays de la Méditerranée; musulman, Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et (2005). Encyclopédie berbère (in French). EDISUD. ISBN 978-2-7449-0538-4. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023. That King Mohammed VI, who is himself the great-grandson of Moha ou Hammou, took advantage of a stay in Khenifra to announce in October 2001 ...
  13. ^ a b c "magazine picture – 1961 – morocco moulay abdallah king hassan II wedding". eBay. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b Rahhou, Jihane (29 June 2024). "Mother of Morocco's King Mohammed VI Passes Away Aged 78". Morocco World News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  15. ^ Sater, James N. (30 November 2009). Morocco: Challenges to Tradition and Modernity. Taylor & Francis. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-203-86409-8.
  16. ^ "1971: Death for Moroccan rebel leaders". BBC. 13 July 1971. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  17. ^ شاهد على العصر – أحمد المرزوقي – الجزء الثالث (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  18. ^ Amoussou, Cédric (30 June 2024). "Maroc: décès de la mère du roi Mohamed VI". La Nouvelle Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  19. ^ Média, Prisma (5 October 2020). "Mohammed VI, roi du Maroc, s'offre un pied-à-terre de 80 millions d'euros à Paris – Gala". Gala.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  20. ^ Jeune Afrique l'intelligent (in French). Groupe Jeune Afrique. 2008. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  21. ^ Vermeren, Pierre (2009). Le Maroc de Mohammed VI: la transition inachevée (in French). Découverte. p. 70. ISBN 978-2-7071-5582-5. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Mohammed VI rend visite à sa mère à Marrakech". bladinet (in French). Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  23. ^ a b "SM le Roi, Amir Al-Mouminine, inaugure à Salé la "Mosquée SA la Princesse Lalla Latifa" et y accomplit la prière du vendredi – La commune de Salé" (in French). 3 August 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  24. ^ Mahjoub Tobji (13 September 2006). Les officiers de Sa Majesté:Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956–2006 (PDF) (in French). Fayard. p. 52. ISBN 978-2-213-64072-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2023. Médiouri ... ended up marrying the widow of Hassan II, Latifa, a few years after the disappearance of the sovereign.
  25. ^ Ali Amar (29 April 2009). Mohammed VI, le grand malentendu (PDF) (in French). Calman-Levy. p. 52. ISBN 978-2-702-14857-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023. Mohamed Médiouri ... had married the mother of Mohammed VI, and therefore the former wife of Hassan II, Latifa
  26. ^ a b AFP. "Moroccan king also targeted by NSO Group's malware". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023. ... and Hassan II's former bodyguard, Mohamed Mediouri, who is the current king's stepfather.
  27. ^ Ignace Dalle (9 March 2011). Hassan II entre tradition et absolutisme. Fayard. ISBN 978-2-213-66458-3.
  28. ^ "MOROCCO : MOHAMED MEDIOURI - 25/05/2000 - Maghreb Confidential". Africa Intelligence. 25 May 2000. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  29. ^ Cembrero, Ignacio (20 May 2019). "El misterioso intento de asesinato en Marrakech del padrastro de Mohamed VI". vanitatis.elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023. Mediouri was, between 1976 and 2000, a bodyguard and later head of the Department of Royal Protection, that is, in charge of the security of King Hassan II, who died in 1999.
  30. ^ a b c "First Friday of Ramadan: King Mohammed VI Inaugurates Mosque 'Lalla Latifa'". www.moroccoworldnews.com/. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Tributes paid as King of Morocco's mother dies". The National. 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  32. ^ "Maroc : mort de la princesse Lalla Latifa, mère de Mohammed VI - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  33. ^ "World Leaders Extend Condolences to King Mohammed VI on Death of Princess Lalla Latifa". Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  34. ^ "UAE leaders offer condolences to King of Morocco". gulfnews.com. 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  35. ^ "Algérie – Maroc : Tebboune présente ses condoléances à Mohamed VI suite au décès de sa mère". TSA (in French). 29 June 2024. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  36. ^ "Source autorisée. Décès de SAR Lalla Latifa, mère du Souverain: aucune annulation d'événements au Maroc". Le360 Sport (in French). 29 June 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  37. ^ "La nouvelle promotion des écoles militaires et paramilitaire est baptisée du nom de feu Lalla Latifa". medias24.com. 31 July 2024.
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