Son of Iraq’s first king passes away at US hospital

By Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD (AA) - Prince Mohamed, son of late Iraqi King Faisal I, has passed away at a U.S. hospital, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry source announced Monday.

He was 88 years old at the time of his death, which, according to the source, took place last Friday.

The source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, said Prince Mohamed had died after a bout with illness.

Preparations are now underway to transfer his body to Iraq’s royal cemetery in Baghdad, the source added.

Prince Mohamed is the son of King Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi (1883-1933), the first king of the Kingdom of Iraq, a title he held from 1921 to 1933.

The third son of Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi, the emir of Mecca, King Faisal I also served briefly as king of Syria (from March 1920 to July the same year).

Prince Mohamed is the brother of Ghazi bin Faisal, who became king of Iraq in 1933 before dying under mysterious circumstances six years later.

In 1958, King Ghazi’s son, Faisal II, was killed in Baghdad -- along with several other members of the family -- in a military coup against the British-backed monarchy.

Prince Mohamed, however, survived the coup (he was studying in Egypt at the time) and soon after resettled in the U.S.

Until his death some 60 years later, he never returned to Iraq.