Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

Princess Lalla Salma (born Salma Bennani (Arabic: سلمى بناني‎, Amazigh: ⵍⴰⵍⵍⴰ ⵙⵍⵎⴰ); 10 May 1978) is the princess consort of Morocco. She is married to King Mohammed VI, and the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to have been publicly acknowledged and given a royal title.[1] After not being spotted by the media between December 2017 and April 2018, it was speculated that she had divorced and had gone into hiding.[2]

Lalla Salma
Lalla Salma in 2012
Princess consort of Morocco
Tenure21 March 2002 – present
BornSalma Bennani
(1978-05-10) 10 May 1978
Fes, Morocco
Spouse
Issue
FatherHadj Abdelhamid Bennani
MotherNaïma Bensouda
ReligionSunni Islam
Royal family of Morocco

HH Princess Lalla Latifa

HRH Princess Lalla Lamia

HRH Princess Lalla Malika

Early life and education

She was born Salma Bennani in Fes.[3]

Her parents were Hadj Abdelhamid Bennani, a schoolteacher,[4] and Naïma Bensouda,[4] who died in 1981, when Salma was three years old; from then on she and her sister Meryem were raised by her maternal grandmother, Hajja Fatma Abdellaoui Maâne. She lived in Rabat, with her half cousin Saira, and the two are commonly seen together in public.[1]

She was educated in Rabat, where she attended a private school, Lycée Hassan II, Lycée Moulay Youssef, and l'École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique et d'Analyse de Systèmes.[4] She met her husband during a private party in 1999. After completing her engineering studies, she worked for a few months as an information services engineer at ONA Group, the country's largest private holding company (which is also controlled by the Moroccan Royal Family).

Marriage and children

Salma married King Mohammed VI on 12 October 2001 (the sadaq or proclamation of marriage) and on 21 March 2002 (the zafaf or celebration of marriage), at the Rabat Royal Palace, Rabat, and was granted the title of Princess Lalla, with the style of Royal Highness on her marriage.[4]

The royal couple has two children:[5]

Royal role

Lalla Salma has kept quite a low profile as Princess of Morocco, although a more public one than her predecessors. She supports cancer associations and the Fez Sacred Music Festival.

Salma has represented the King and Morocco in meetings and gatherings in Saudi Arabia, Japan, Thailand, Israel, Tunisia and France. On 29 April 2011, she attended the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton. She also attended the wedding of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy in 2012 and 2013 inauguration of King Willem-Alexander.[6]

Princess Lalla Salma founded a cancer prevention association in Morocco.[7] She also create Lalla Salma Foundation – Prevention and Treatment of Cancer[6] and also has been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa.[6] In 2006, Princess Lalla Salma was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for the Cancer Care, Promotion and Prevention.[6] Beside involved in cancer and HIV/AIDS prevention, she also supports and encourages women's empowerment.[8]

Titles, styles, and honours
Styles of
Princess Salma of Morocco
Reference styleHer Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

Titles and styles

Lalla Salma is styled as Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma.

Honours

References
  1. Profile Archived 2 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, nettyroyal.nl; accessed 20 September 2014.
  2. Brittani Barger (14 April 2018). "What's next for Princess Lalla Salma after rumoured divorce from the Moroccan King?".
  3. "RWB" (in French). Reporters sans frontières (Morocco)/VSD. 7 March 2002. Archived from the original on 25 December 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2015. Tout le royaume bruisse de l'événement à venir. Courant mars, sa majesté Mohammed VI se mariera. L'heureuse élue, Salma Bennani, est une jeune femme de 25 ans, native de Fès et issue de la haute bourgeoisie.
  4. The Alawi Dynasty – Genealogy, The Royal Ark
  5. "Paris Match royal blog". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
  6. "Who is Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco?". royalcentral.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  7. "Lalla Salma Association Against Cancer". UICC. Archived 29 May 2012 at Archive.today
  8. "HRH Princess Salma Bennani Biography". Arab Royal Family.
  9. "Boletín Oficial del Estado" (PDF).
  10. "Princess Lalla Salma decorated by President of Senegal". Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  11. "Princess Lalla Salma Receives WHO Gold Medal". The North Africa Post. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
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