Died the same day: the story of an Arab princess executed in 1977 with her lover

In life, everything is different: a girl from a noble family who falls in love with the wrong man, only death awaits her.

Princess Mishaal’s grandfather was Muhammad ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, the older brother of King Khalid of Saudi Arabia. Why did the youngest son take the throne? The fact is that Muhammad was famous for his difficult character and addiction to alcohol, and his relatives forced the man to give up the throne.

Muhammad had another weakness – his granddaughter Mishaal. He spoiled the charming, smart little girl as best he could. New toys? As many as you want! Outfits ? Everything the young beauty wants! It got to the point that Muhammad did not object when the girl announced that she needed to go to school and allowed her parents to send the girl to study in Lebanon.

Everyone was sure that nothing terrible would happen to the 19-year-old princess. Morality in Lebanon is only a little freer than in the homeland of Mishaal, moreover, the girl was guarded by a whole staff of servants. However, close beauties were mistaken: she fell in love, completely forgetting that when she returned home she would be married to her cousin.

Mishaal’s chosen one was Khalid ash-Shaira al-Mukhalkhal, the son of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon. The young man did not belong to the most “simple” family, but by royal standards he was an ordinary commoner who should not even approach the princess. The young people were well aware that they had no common future and were delighted with the crumbs of communication they received.

After graduating from the institute, Mishaal returned to Saudi Arabia. She was going to follow her destiny – to dutifully marry the prince chosen by her father. But one of the servants told Muhammad that Mishaal had dishonored the family – several times she found herself alone with a man.

The grandfather became furious and demanded a trial. The princess was horrified: according to Sharia, an act that seems innocent to us was considered adultery, the penalty for which is death. The girl tried to escape – she went to the seaside, scattered her things, changed into men’s clothes herself and went to the airport. Nothing happened: the police recognized her and detained her until the family members arrived.

Convicting Mishaal required either his confession or four witnesses who would confirm the extramarital affair. There were no eyewitnesses and it remains unclear if the princess agreed she was to blame – the process was over. Either way, Mishaal and Khalid were sentenced to public execution.

The sentence was carried out on July 15, 1977. Mishaal’s death was quick: she was blindfolded and shot in the head. Khalid, who watched all this, was tormented: one of the relatives of the princess, who was not a professional executioner and coped with the task only from the fifth blow, decided to cut off his head.

Muhammad was then asked if his granddaughter really deserved to die. He just shrugged, “It was enough for me that they were in the same room together.” The situation for all women in Saudi Arabia after Mishaal’s death worsened: the religious police began to patrol bazaars, shops and other places where men and women could meet, and to arrest all offenders who were breaking the law.

Photo credit: sobhan joodi/Unsplash