Princess

Lalla Lalla ( 720–790 CE) was an Indian Indian mathematics, mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer who belonged to a family of astronomers. Lalla was the son of Trivikrama Bhatta and the grandson of Śâmba."Lalla." Complete Dictionary of Scientif ...

Aicha of Morocco (17 June 1930 – 4 September 2011) was the younger sister of the late King

Hassan II of Morocco Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla ...

, and daughter of King

Mohammed V of Morocco Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi, better known simply as Mohammed V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A ...

and his second wife,

Lalla Abla bint Tahar Princess Lalla Abla bint Tahar (5 September 1909 – 1 March 1992) was the princess consort of Morocco from 1955 to 1961, the mother of King Hassan II (who reigned from 1961 to 1999) and the grandmother of King Mohammed VI She was the daughter o ...

Biography

Princess Lalla Aicha was born at Dar al-Makhzen in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. She was privately educated in Rabat and received her primary school certificate, both the Moroccan and French certificate, in 1943. She pursued her education at the ''Lycée de jeunes filles de Rabat'' (nowadays ''Lycée Lalla Aïcha''). At the age of 14, her father charged the doyen of

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islamic fundamentalism, fundamentalist Islamic revival, revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" ...

in Morocco, Si Mohammed bel-Arbi Alaoui, of her education. In 1947, when she was seventeen, she appeared in public unveiled with the support of her father the King, who wished to send a signal that he supported the emancipation of women. She was awarded her

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

degree in 1953. The same year, in August 1953, the exile of her father Mohammed V and her family on

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

first then Madagascar interrupted her studies in languages. The exile lasted almost two years until 1955, when she and her family returned in great fanfare in Morocco on November 16, 1955. After her return from exile, she pursued her studies at the University of Rabat where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in languages in 1959. After graduating Lalla Aisha began organizing women's society and social service groups. She came to play a role in the women's rights movement in Morocco: she held speeches in favor of women's education, and represented Morocco at an international women's conference in Tunisia in 1960. She was the first president of the Entraide Nationale in 1956. When it was founded, the Entraide Nationale brought together the League for the Protection of Mothers and Children, the League against

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, the Red Crescent and the League against Illiteracy. She was as well honorary president of the Moroccan

Red Crescent Society The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

from the 1950s until 1967 and honorary president of the National Union of Moroccan Women from 1969 until her death in 2011, at age 81. Lalla Aicha was the Ambassador of Morocco to the United Kingdom between 1965 and 1969, residing in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

, and then to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

from 1969 to 1970, and to Italy between 1970 and 1973.

Family

She first married on 16 August 1961 (in a triple ceremony with her sisters,

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

, Malika and their husbands), at the Dar al-Makhzen in Rabat, ''Moulay'' Hassan al-Yaqubi (also named Hassan El Yacoubi) (born 1935). Together they had two daughters: * ''Lalla'' Zubaida al-Yaqubi (also named Zoubida El Yacoubi), Vice-Consul at New York 1985. * ''Lalla'' Nufissa al-Yaqubi (also named Noufissa El Yacoubi), Vice-Consul at New York 1986. She divorced her husband in 1972. The same year, on August 2, 1972, she remarried to Moulay El Hassan ben Al Mehdi (1912-1984), former ''Khalifa'' of Tetuan. They had no children; she became widowed of her spouse on November 1, 1984.

Honours

National honours

* Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Throne The Order of the Throne () is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King Hassan II of Morocco, who reigned between 1961 and 199 ...

(1963). *

Order of Muhammad The Order of Muhammad, also referred to as Order of Sovereignty (, French: ''Ordre de la Souveraineté'' or ''Ordre de Mohammed''), is the highest state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Order was instituted on 16 November 1956 by King ...

, 2nd Class (2007).

Foreign honours

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

of the Italian Republic (01/07/1970). * Honorary Dame Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

of the United Kingdom (DCVO, 27/10/1980).

Honorary military appointments

* Honorary Colonel of the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

(1957–2011).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aicha, Princess Lalla 20th-century Moroccan women 20th-century Moroccan people 21st-century Moroccan women 21st-century Moroccan people 1930 births 2011 deaths Ambassadors of Morocco to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Morocco to Greece Ambassadors of Morocco to Italy Honorary Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Moroccan exiles in Madagascar Moroccan princesses Moroccan women ambassadors People from Rabat Daughters of kings Hijab