Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

of
turning away from the entire Al Sa’ud clan and choosing instead a
man of God for leadership.
    Prince Faisal looked hard at the younger
princes when he stated in a clear, sure voice that their disregard
for the traditional life-style of bedouin believers would topple
the throne. He said his heart was heavy from sadness that so few of
the younger royals were willing to work, content to live on their
monthly stipend from the oil wealth. A long pause ensued as he
waited for comments from his brothers and relatives. As none seemed
to be forthcoming, he added that if he, Faisal, were at the
controls of the oil wealth, the flow of money to the princes would
be cut and honorable work would be sought. He nodded his head at
his brother Mohammed and sat down with a sigh. From the balcony, I
noticed the nervous squirming of several youthful cousins. Even
though the largest monthly stipend was no more than ten thousand
dollars, the men of the Al Sa’ud clan grew increasingly wealthy
from the land. Saudi Arabia is a huge country, and most of the
property belongs to our family. In addition, no building contracts
are signed without benefit to one of our own.
    Prince Mohammed, the third eldest living
brother, began to speak, and from what we could gather, King Sa’ud
had now insisted on the return of absolute power that had been
taken from him in 1958. He was rumored to be in the countryside,
speaking out against his brother Faisal. It was a devastating
moment for the family of Al Sa’ud, for its members had always shown
a unified front to the citizens of Saudi Arabia.
    I remember when my father had told the story
of why the eldest living son after Faisal, Mohammed, was passed
over as successor to the throne. The old king had declared that if
Mohammed’s disposition were backed by the power of the Crown, many
men would die, for Mohammed’s violent temper was well known.
    My attention returned to the meeting and I
heard Prince Mohammed say that the monarchy itself was endangered;
he approached the possibility of physically overthrowing the king
and installing Prince Faisal in his stead. Prince Faisal gasped so
loudly that the sound stifled Mohammed. Faisal seemed to be weeping
as he spoke quietly. He told his kin that he had given his beloved
father a deathbed promise that he would never oppose the rule of
his brother. In no event would he consider breaking the promise,
not even if Sa’ud bankrupted the country. If talk of ousting his
brother was going to be the heart of the meeting, then he, Faisal,
would have to depart.
    There was a hum of voices as the men of our
family agreed that Mohammed, the eldest brother next to Faisal,
should attempt to reason with our king. We watched as the men toyed
with their coffee cups and made vows of loyalty to their father’s
wish that all the sons of Abdul Aziz would confront the world as a
united force. As the traditional exchange of farewells began, we
watched as the men filed as silently from the room as they had
entered.
    Little did I know that this meeting was the
beginning of the end of the rule of my uncle, King Sa’ud. As
history unfolded, and our family and countrymen watched in sadness,
the sons of Abdul Aziz were forced to evict one of their own from
his land. Uncle Sa’ud had become so desperate that in the end, he
had sent a threatening note to his brother Prince Faisal. This one
act sealed his fate, for it was unthinkable for one brother to
insult or threaten another. In the unwritten rule of the bedouin,
one brother never turns against the other.
    A fevered crisis erupted within the family,
and the country. But we learned later that a revolution, sought by
Uncle Sa’ud, had been averted by the soft approach of Crown Prince
Faisal. He stepped aside and left it to his brothers and the men of
religion to decide the best course of action for our young country.
In doing so, he took away the personal drama of the movement so
that it became a less volatile matter, with statesmen making
appropriate decisions.
    Two days later, we learned about the
abdication from one of Uncle Sa’ud’s wives, for our father had been
away at the time with his brothers and cousins. One of our favorite
aunties, married to King Sa’ud, burst into our home in great
agitation. I was shocked to see her rip her veil from her face in
front of our male servants. She had arrived from the Nasriyah
Palace, Uncle Sa’ud’s desert palace (an edifice that, to my mind,
was a wonder of what endless money