That same year, he met his future wife, then Salma Bennani, an engineering student. While she was studying at university, he had just been crowned ruler of Morocco. The couple married in 2002 and, breaking with a long-standing Moroccan tradition that kept royal wives out of the public limelight, Salma was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma and took a much more modern approach to royal life. She worked to prevent HIV/AIDS in Africa, founded her own cancer charity and became a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization. READ MORE: Discovery of Anne Boleyn’s ‘final hours’ before execution revealed: ‘This is big!’ But others thought he might be living in exile in the US or on the Greek island of Kea with the couple’s youngest daughter, Princess Lalla Khadija. The palace has not released any official details of the princess’ whereabouts. Netty Leistra, a royal journalist, told Royal Central: “I think Salma has had a very tough job trying to be the first visible wife of a Moroccan king. “There is also a big age difference. Salma did some good things and of course gave birth to two children. “I always thought he was doing pretty well. “I guess if the divorce news is right, they’ll give her a nice big house and all the money she needs to keep quiet about it. “But I think it’s rather sad if it’s true.” In 2019, news of the separation was seemingly confirmed by the French royal family’s lawyer, Éric Dupond-Moretti, who described her in an official communication as the “ex-wife” of the Moroccan monarch. The Moroccan media chose to ignore the disappearance of the princess from public life and she is referred to as the “missing” princess of Morocco. The Moroccan royal court has never confirmed or denied that the couple have gone their separate ways. In the years since, Lalla Salma has been spotted from time to time. In September 2019, she was spotted in New York City with her two children along with security guards near New York City’s Central Park. Months earlier she had been spotted holidaying in Greece with her daughter. Since then, however, the princess has not been seen in public. In May this year, the Arab news agency Assahifa reported that Lalla Salma celebrated her 44th birthday at a royal estate near the Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Rabat, where she reportedly resides almost permanently.
