Lalla Salma

Princess ''Lalla'' Salma (born Salma Bennani, , born 10 May 1978) is the former wife of Mohammed VI of Morocco. They married in 2002, and she became the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to have been publicly acknowledged. She was last seen in an official capacity in December 2017, and it was later on reported, in 2018, that she and Mohammed VI had divorced.

Early life and education

Salma Bennani was born in Fez on 10 May 1978 to a middle-class family. She originates from the Fez branch of the Bennani family - a prominent family originally belonging to the social category of ''bildiyyīn'' ("people of the town") who were Jewish converts from Fez to Islam. Despite not being Berber, it is often said that Lalla Salma is of Berber origin. Her father is Abdelhamid Bennani, a university teacher who taught at ''l'École normale supérieure de Fès'' and her mother is Naïma Bensouda, who died in 1981 when Salma was three years old. From then on, she and her sister Meriem (who became a doctor) were raised in Rabat by her maternal grandmother, Fatma Abdellaoui Maâne. She lived with her half cousin Saira in Rabat and the two are commonly seen together in public.

She received her education in Rabat where she got her baccalaureate from , then pursued her studies in mathematics at Lycée Moulay Youssef and then received an engineering diploma from the . After completing her computer engineering studies in 2000, 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).

She is fluent in Arabic and French, and also speaks Spanish, which she learned later on.

Marriage and children

Lalla Salma became engaged to King Mohammed VI, whom she first met during a private party in 1999, on 12 October 2001. Their first wedding ceremony, the '' sadaq'' ceremony (or proclamation of marriage) took place on 21 March 2002; and the ''zafaf'' (or celebration of marriage) took place on 12 and 13 July 2002 at '' Dar al-Makhzen'' (the principal Royal palace) in Rabat.

Her marriage was significant as a break from the past because it was a public marriage and she was the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to officially be granted a title being "Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma". Traditionally, the wives of Moroccan rulers were simply known as the "mother of the princes" and were hidden from the public. Furthermore, she came from a humble background rather than being from a prominent tribal family like one belonging to the Zayane which was custom for royal marriages. Being from an urban, non-Berber background rather than being the daughter of a Berber tribal leader showed that the post-independence method of aligning with Berber notables became less important or that marriage alliances became archaic.

Issue

Activities

''Lalla'' Salma kept quite a low profile as Princess of Morocco, although a more public one than her predecessors. Between 2005 and 2019, she was president of the . This foundation was created in September 2005, and has also been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. Lalla Salma also presided annually over the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, where the Foundation presented the achievements of its "Tobacco-Free Colleges and High Schools" program (launched in November 2007). After her divorce, she stopped performing any public engagements. It has been reported that she is still active in the foundation, but there is no specific information confirming her continued presidency. Press releases from the Foundation only mention the work of the foundation under the leadership of its executive director, Dr. Rachid Bekkali.

In 2006, Princess Lalla Salma was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for the Cancer Care, Promotion and Prevention. Besides being involved in cancer and HIV/AIDS prevention, she also supports and encourages women's empowerment.

From 2004 to her divorce in 2018, she presided over the opening ceremony of the Fez Sacred Music Festival, an event under the Patronage of King Mohammed VI.

Lalla Salma represented the King and Morocco in meetings and gatherings in Saudi Arabia, Japan, Thailand, Palestine, 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 the 2013 inauguration of King Willem-Alexander.

In May 2017, the "Mosque H.R.H. Princess Lalla Salma" was built in her honor and inaugurated in Fez. Built on Al Mizane Square, the mosque has a capacity of more than 3,000 worshippers.

She was the first wife of a Moroccan king to appear on the cover of a Moroccan lifestyle magazine in modern Moroccan fashion. She also posed for the cover of the French magazine Paris Match who described her as ''enormement belle''.

Since her divorce, she occasionally took on engagements in a private capacity, and was last seen attending one in 2021.

Divorce

At the beginning of 2018, her media absence was noted. Her last public appearance was in December 2017 at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat.

In 2018, Spanish and Italian media reported that it was Lalla Salma who requested the divorce. She had already left her husband before his hospitalization on 26 February 2018, which explained her absence at the king's bedside (after his heart arrhythmia surgery in Paris). The media added that she had left the Dar Es Salam in Rabat and was living somewhere in Rabat. On 21 March 2018, the magazine ''¡Hola!'', citing anonymous sources, explained that the princess and the sovereign had divorced and that the custody of the two children remained with the king. Their divorce was reportedly effective and confirmed by sources close to the palace, although not officially commented on.

Spanish journalist Andrea Mori claimed: 'In talking with a friend in Morocco, learnedthat it is likely that money is given to Lalla Salma and that she be hidden from the public...'. Her divorce from the king resulted in her exclusion from all public appearances and the removal of all her official duties. She was also reportedly forbidden from keeping the expensive jewelry she had received as gifts during her marriage.

After her divorce, Lalla Salma remained in Morocco, which denied rumors that she had settled in France, where she had many friends, or in Greece, where she owned properties. Staying close to her children was a priority for her. Regarding her new life after Dar Es Salam, she lived in the residential area of Rabat and had 'regular visits to the palace to see her children'.

In 2019, the French lawyer of the King of Morocco, Éric Dupond-Moretti, referred to Lalla Salma as the 'ex-wife'. This statement unofficially confirmed the royal couple's divorce.

On 8 January 2025, the magazine ''Gala'' explained that it is now Lalla Salma who holds custody of her children and that she has been authorized to return to the Dar Es Salam palace and live there with her children.

Honours

*: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (14 January 2005).
*: Grand Cross of the (1 December 2008).
*: Gold Medal of the World Health Organization (25 May 2017).
*: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Salma Bennani, Lalla
21st-century women engineers
1978 births
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Living people
Salma
Moroccan princesses
Royalty from Fez, Morocco
Moroccan royal consorts
Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II
20th-century Moroccan women
20th-century Moroccan people
21st-century Moroccan women
21st-century Moroccan people