Saudi ‘Sleeping Prince’ wakes up after 20 years in coma? Truth behind viral video
A video surfaced on the internet with the claims that it shows Saudi Arabia's ‘Sleeping Prince’, in a coma for 20 years, waking up and meeting his family.
Saudi Arabia's Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal, widely known as the "Sleeping Prince," has been in a coma for the past 20 years after a car accident in 2005. The royal marked his 36th birthday on April 18, 2025. Soon after, a video appeared on social media claiming that he had woken up from a coma and was greeted by his family. The clip, however, is being shared with false claims. It doesn’t show the prince, and it is of Yazeed Mohamed Al-Rajhi, a Saudi businessman and motorsport icon.

What does the viral video claim?
“Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal of Saudi Arabia known as the ‘Sleeping Prince’ who has been in a coma since a car accident in 2005 has finally woken up,” an X user posted, sharing a picture and a video. The same visuals have been shared by others across various social media platforms.
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While the picture is that of the Saudi prince, the video comes with a text insert which reads, “Sleeping Prince of Saudi Who hard accident 20 yrs ago and has been into coma has finally regained His life' all thanks to the father who refused to give up on him.” That claim is false.
The reality behind the video:
The video shows billionaire Yazeed Mohamed Al-Rajhi meeting people after recovering from an accident. As per an Instagram post shared on Yazeed Racing, Al-Rajhi’s official Baja rally team, he and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk were involved in an accident during the second and final stage of Baja Jordan. The post was shared on April 12.
“They were transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Both are fully conscious and in stable condition and are currently undergoing the necessary medical examinations to ensure their well-being. We will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available,” the official statement added. Since then, multiple videos of Al-Rajhi’s recovery have been posted on Instagram.
In a post, it was later updated, “Medical examinations have confirmed that champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi has sustained fractures in two vertebrae of his spine, while his co-driver Timo Gottschalk has suffered four spinal fractures.”
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A part of Al-Rajhi’s recovery video at the hospital was shared with a picture ofPrince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal with the false claims. They are two different people. While Al-Rajhi has recovered and is discharged from the hospital, there are no reports of the Saudi Prince waking up from the coma.
According to a Times of India (TOI) report, doctors advised Prince Al-Waleed’s father to end life support, but he refused.
The ‘Sleeping Prince’ is the great-grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz.
ABOUT THE AUTHORTrisha SenguptaTrisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More

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