If you thought Jamal Khashoggi was the first one to call for political reform in Saudi Arabia, you were wrong. If you think no Saudi prince ever demanded constitutional monarchy, again you are off the mark. Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz who died on Dec 22, 2018, at the age of 87 was one such prince whose demands for political reshaping of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) resulted in his exile in the 1960s. He was allowed to return within a decade but kept popping his head off and on. The last he surfaced was when his son Waleed bin Talal was detained by the Saudi government.

For his liberal and relatively left-leaning ideas, he was often dubbed as the ‘Red Prince’. He founded the Free Princes Movement in the 1960s and led a group of liberal princes who were influenced by the Arab nationalism of Gamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt. These princes wanted reforms in the autocratic regime of Al Saud and proposed that a constitutionally established government be formed and diversity of ideas and opinions be encouraged and tolerated. But before discussing Prince Talal and his ideas, some background of Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s is in order.

If you are interested in Arab history Thomas Kiernan’s book The Arabs, and Albert Hourani’s A History of the Arab Peoples are good sources, apart from Philip Hitti’s classic, History of the Arabs. But for a brief overview of modern Saudi Arabia, As’ad Abu Khalil’s The Battle for Saudi Arabia is a gem. In eight chapters the book takes you through the origins of Saudi Arabia and Wahhabiyyah to the questions of human rights and Saudi-US relations. In chapter four, Abu Khalil discusses the rise and fall of King Saud and how princes such as Faisal and Talal vied for power and tried to draw the kingdom towards their preferred path.

King Saud had come to power in 1953 after the death of his father Abdul-Aziz who had sired dozens of sons but Saud was his favourite. King Saud’s reign was marred by mismanagement and profligacy that resulted in heavy debts to the Saudi treasury. King Saud was born in 1902, Faisal in 1906 and with just four years’ difference, Faisal found himself in a strong position to challenge his elder brother King Saud. Prince Talal was the 20^th son of King Abdul-Aziz -- almost 20 years younger than Saud -- but was a much bright young man with plenty of ideas.

When King Abdul-Aziz created the ministry of communication in 1952, Prince Talal was appointed minister of communication just at the age of 21. After 1953, Talal developed some differences with his brother King Saud and resigned in 1955. In 1958, Prince Talal suggested the creation of a national council to draft a constitution for the KSA, placing more powers in the hands of the cabinet and removing most of the authority of the king. It also stipulated a partially-elected advisory committee. Both King Saud and crown prince Faisal repudiated these reforms and some royals called it crypto-communist, and Talal came to be known as the Red Prince.

As the friction between King Saud and Faisal intensified, the king reconciled with Talal in 1960 and appointed him as minister of finance and national economy. Now almost 30 years of age, Talal initiated the Free Princes Movement and once again proposed in September 1961 to establish a constitution in Saudi Arabia. King Saud did not appreciate this demand since he had no intention or plan to reform the political system. He forced Talal to resign from the cabinet. So between Faisal and Talal, Saud ultimately relied on Faisal. Talal’s brother Prince Nawwaf succeeded him in the ministerial post.

Talal went to Beirut and held a press conference in August 1962, causing a stir by openly criticising the Saudi regime. King Saud cancelled Talal’s passport, confiscated his properties, and arrested some of his supporters in Saudi Arabia. Now, internationally speaking, the early 1960s was an interesting time. The American-Soviet rivalry was at its peak and both were trying to establish and consolidate their footholds in the Middle East. Egypt was following a staunch anti-American policy, and the USSR was helping Gamal Abdul Nasser. Under these circumstances, the Arabian Peninsula itself became a battleground when civil war started in North Yemen.

In 1962, when Talal was in Beirut, a coup took place in Yemen, overthrowing the Kingdom of Yemen and establishing a Republic of Yemen led by the military commander who was supported by Gamal Nasser. The deposed King of Yemen, al-Badr fled to Saudi Arabia and initiated a civil war against the newly established Yemeni Republic. Thus started a proxy war between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Now, 50 years later, Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting almost the same proxy war while Egypt is supporting Saudi Arabia.

That was the time when Prince Talal again used the name of the Free Princes in Cairo and in August 1962 broadcast his progressive views on the Radio Cairo. The name Free Princes was on the same pattern as the Free Officers who had overthrown King Farooq of Egypt. Later, Princes Fawwaz, Nawwaz, Badr, Mohsin, and some other princes joined Talal and issued statements on behalf of the Saudi Liberation Front. This was the height of the Arab Cold War in which liberal, nationalist, and progressive Arabs were led by Nasser supported by the USSR, and conservative, fundamentalist, and monarchist Arabs were led by Saudi Arabia supported by the USA.

In this Cold War, King Saud of the KSA was a misplaced ruler who lacked the qualities to lead a war as per the American wishes. Faisal was proving himself better at maneuvering so the Saudi elite prompted by the USA, deposed King Saud and Faisal became the new king in 1964. In the meantime, the civil war in Yemen was raging and when Nasser called for a complete overthrow of the monarchy in the KSA, the Free Princes led by Talal did not like it. They just wanted some reforms within a constitutional monarchy, whereas Nasser was hoping to establish a republic in the KSA too.

When Faisal became the king he needed support, so he capitalised on Talal’s estrangement with Nasser and allowed the Free Princes to come back and agreed to unfreeze their assets provided they did not expect any government position. In the Arab-Israel war of June 1967, the Egyptian forces led by Nasser suffered a humiliating defeat and it mellowed the Nasserite rhetoric against other Arab states including Saudi Arabia. King Faisal was sagacious enough to offer a hand of friendship to his former foe, Nasser, and this reconciliation extinguished any remaining spark in the Free Princes, including Talal.

Henceforth, Prince Talal remained active in charity work and didn’t speak much for the next 30 years. In 2001, once again he openly stated his support for the establishment of an elected assembly in Saudi Arabia. Then in 2007, he announced his desire to form a political party to liberalise the country. In 2009 when King Abdullah appointed Prince Nayef as second deputy prime minister, Prince Talal publically questioned this decision. In 2011 again, Talal didn’t like the appointment of Nayef as crown prince. At that time Talal was member of the Allegiance Council that was supposed to make the selection of crown prince.

Finally in January 2018, Talal was in the news for the last time when he threatened to go on hunger strike over detention of his sons including Waleed bin Talal. Waleed was released after paying huge sum of money and the same year the Red Prince died without witnessing any political reforms he had been hoping for during his entire lifetime.