Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud (born 1977)

Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud (Arabic: خالد بن بندر بن سلطان بن عبد ٱلعزيز آل سعود, romanizedḪālid bin Bandar bin Sulṭān bin ʿAbdu l ʿAzīz ʾĀl Suʿūd; born 1977) is the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom[1] and a member of the House of Saud.

Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom
In office27 March 2019 – present
MonarchSalman
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the Germany
In officeJune 2017 – 27 March 2019
SuccessorFaisal bin Farhan Al Saud
MonarchSalman
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Paris, France
Spouse
Lucy Cuthbert
(m. 2011)
HouseAl Saud
FatherBandar bin Sultan
MotherHaifa bint Faisal
Styles of
Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Reference styleHis Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

Early life and education

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Born in 1977 in Paris,[2] Khalid bin Bandar is the son of Bandar bin Sultan and Haifa bint Faisal Al Saud.[3] His paternal grandfather is Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The parents of his mother are King Faisal bin Abdulaziz and Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan.[4]

Khalid bin Bandar attended Eton College before going up to Pembroke College, Oxford, where he graduated in Oriental studies. He also attended Sandhurst Military Academy, graduating as a commissioned officer,[5] before becoming a post-graduate at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.[6][7]

Career

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Khalid bin Bandar started his career working at the United Nations' department of political affairs in New York.[5] He worked for three years as an advisor to the Saudi Ambassador in Washington DC. He is the executive chairman of Dayim Holdings founded in 2006.[8] He is also an acting general manager of Al Hama Company, a Saudi-based retail company, and the chairman of Byblos Real Estate Development Company based in the United Arab Emirates.[9]

In June 2017, he became the Saudi ambassador to Germany.[6][10] In 2019, he was made the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom.[1]

Personal life

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Khalid dated and lived with Vanessa Hayden, the future wife of Donald Trump Jr., from 1998 to 2001.[11] They intended to marry, but broke up after the September 11 attacks when he left the U.S. after his father was suspected of having indirect ties to the hijackers.[12]

In Oxford in March 2011, Khalid married Lucy Caroline Cuthbert (born 1982),[6] daughter of John Aidan Cuthbert, of Beaufront Castle, Hexham, Northumberland, and Lady Victoria Lucy Diana (daughter of Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland),[13] and thus, niece of Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, at a ceremony attended by a handful of guests.[14][15]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Minister of Foreign Affairs Receives Deputy National Security Adviser". Saudi Press Agency. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  2. ^ "هل اختارت السعودية "خالد بن بندر" للتنفيس دولياً بقضية خاشقجي؟". alkhaleejonline (in Arabic). 17 October 2019.
  3. ^ Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in commerce: A study of royal entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: I.S. Publications. ISBN 81-901254-0-0.
  4. ^ Steve Coll (2008). The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century. New York: Penguin Publishing Group. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-101-20272-2.
  5. ^ a b "Board Members". Dayım Holdings. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the UK". Arab News. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Saudi Prince named alongside Thunberg, Beckham and Meghan Markle in top 50 shaping the UK". Arabian Business. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. ^ Mehran Kamrava; Gerd Nonneman; Anastasia Nosova; Marc Valeri (3 November 2016). "Ruling Families and Business Elites in the Gulf Monarchies: Ever Closer?" (Research paper). Chatham House. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  9. ^ "H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  10. ^ Meet the next generation of Saudi rulers Simon Henderson. 10 November 2017, Chicago Tribune
  11. ^ "Vanessa Trump Almost Married a Saudi Prince Before Donald Trump Jr.: Report". People. 14 May 2018.
  12. ^ Erika Harwood (14 May 2018). "Did 9/11 Keep Vanessa Trump from Marrying a Saudi Prince?". Vanity Fair.
  13. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 2, p. 2948
  14. ^ "Another royal wedding: Saudi prince marries Englishwoman". CBS News. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Saudi prince weds in Oxford register office". The Oxford Times. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2013.