Saudi ‘Sleeping Prince’ wakes up after 20 years in coma? Truth behind viral video

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.

A video is being shared with a false claim that it shows Saudi Arabia's 'Sleeping Prince'. (Screengrab (X))

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.

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.”

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