Princess Lalla Malika (14 March 1931 – 28 September 2021) was the daughter of King Mohammed V, a sister of

King Hassan II 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 an aunt to King Mohammed VI. For the Moroccan people, she was best known for being the last surviving Royal Family member that was sent to exile by the French occupation. She was the oldest member of the royal family when she died aged 90 and King Mohammed's last paternal-side family member.

Biography

Lalla Malika 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. ...

and is the third child of

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

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 ...

. In 1947, aged 10, Lalla Malika obtained her Moroccan and French primary school certificate. Like her older sister Lalla Aicha, she was educated at the ''Lycée de jeunes filles de Rabat'' (nowadays ''Lycée Lalla Aïcha'').' In 1953, because of the exile of her family, first in

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 ...

then in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, she had to change schools. Her father and her family lived in

Antsirabe Antsirabe () also known as Ville d'eau is the list of cities in Madagascar, third largest city in Madagascar and the capital of the Vakinankaratra region, with a population of 265,018 in 2014. In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively ...

and Lalla Malika became an intern in a religious college, ''Les sœurs de Notre-Dame-de-Cluny''. She did not bear the boarding school for long, just like her brother Moulay Abdallah interned in another establishment, and left her boarding school very quickly to take private lessons, her brother too. In 1958, Lalla Malika completed her training at the Rabat nursing school. In her honor, in the same city was inaugurated thereafter the Lalla Malika State School of Nursing. She was the chairwoman of the Moroccan

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

from 1967 until her death. She was married at Dar al-Makhzen Royal Palace on 16 August 1961, Mohamed Cherkaoui (1921–2022), Ambassador to France 1961–1964, President of the Permanent Consultative Committee of the Maghreb 1964, Minister for Finance and the National Economy 1964–1965, for Development 1965–1966, Foreign Affairs 1966–1967, and National Defence 1967, President of the Afro-Asian Economic Co-operation. They had the following children: * Moulay Sulaiman Cherkaoui; * Moulay Omar Cherkaoui; * Moulay Mehdi Cherkaoui; * Lalla Rabia Cherkaoui.

Honours

* Dame 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 ...

(Kingdom of Morocco). *

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, Kingdom of Morocco).

References

1933 births 2021 deaths Moroccan princesses Moroccan exiles in Madagascar Alawi dynasty People from Rabat 20th-century Moroccan people 21st-century Moroccan people Daughters of kings {{Morocco-bio-stub