Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Sara bint Talal (Arabic: سارة بنت طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎) is a Saudi princess and the daughter of Prince Talal.

Early years

Sara bint Talal was raised in Riyadh in the liberal, more progressive branch of Prince Talal. Her mother is Moudie bint Abdul Mohsen Alangary and she has a full-brother Turki bin Talal. She was nicknamed "little Barbie" because of her beauty and her material well-being but educated by a strict English governess. After studies at the King Saud University in Riyadh, she married a royal cousin but divorced in her twenties.

Activities and views

Princess Sara ran a local charity organization in Saudi Arabia in the mid-2000s. She stated after Crown Prince Abdullah became king in August 2005 that her father was also a contender for the Saudi throne. She also told the AFP "We, the Saudi people, want a clearer mechanism for succession... All (members of the royal family) agreed on Crown Prince Abdullah given that he is the eldest and best qualified. Prince Sultan was also agreed upon to become crown prince. But what happens next?" She accompanied her father while he was ambassador to UNICEF, visiting refugee camps.

Exile in the United Kingdom

BBC reports that she has been living in the United Kingdom since 2007 with her four children. The reason was reported to be a conflict with her father. It led her to be protected by her uncle, the late Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, a rival of her father, until his death in June 2012. Princess Sara also experienced an inheritance dispute with her brother, Prince Turki, over their late mother’s £325  million fortune.

2012 political asylum request

With fear from political threats on her family, Princess Sara asked political asylum for herself and for her children in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2012. It is the first case of asking for political asylum by a senior member of the Saudi ruling family.

Vocal opposition

After her request for political asylum, Princess Sara expressed her support for reform in Saudi Arabia and for fighting against corruption in mid July 2012.