Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, best known as Aga Khan, passed away in his home in Portugal, surrounded by his family on February 4, 2025, aged 88. Aga Khan’s Foundation shared the sad news.
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Many public figures have shared their condolences and paid their respects to the spiritual leader. Among the public figures, King Charles has stood out. According to The Independent, it is believed that the King privately reached out to Al-Hussaini’s family following the announcement.
A source revealed to The Independent that King Charles, who is known to be very spiritual, was ‘deeply saddened’ by Prince Karim Al-Hussaini’s death as he was a ‘personal friend of many years’.
As the world mourns the loss of the spiritual leader, let’s look into the Royal Family’s relationship with Aga Khan.
The Royal Family’s relationship with Aga Khan
As per The Independent, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini was a long-time friend of Queen Elizabeth, as they both shared a deep love and interest in horse racing and often watched the Royal Ascot together.
Queen Elizabeth gave the spiritual leader the title of ‘His Highness’ in July 1957, as he was treated like a head of state. In 2008, the late Queen Elizabeth held a dinner party in honour of Aga Khan at Buckingham Palace.
Moreover, in 2009, Aga Khan gifted Queen Elizabeth an unnamed foal for her 80th birthday, per Royal Central. That horse went on to become Estimate, the horse that won the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2013—a lifelong dream of the late Queen.
As reported by The Independent, Prince William and Princess Kate met Aga Khan at an event in London in 2019. Indeed, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Aga Khan Centre in London and met with prominent British-Pakistani business leaders, musicians, chefs, and artists.
Who is Aga Khan?
As mentioned above, Aga Khan was also known as Prince Karim Al-Hussaini. As reported by AP News, the Prince became the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims at the age of 20 as a Harvard undergraduate.
Aga Khan was the 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims; it has not yet been announced who his successor will be. Nonetheless, per the news outlet, a successor has been named in Aga Khan’s will, which will be read in the presence of his family and religious leaders before it is made public.
According to The Sun, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini was born in Switzerland but spent most of the last part of his life in France. Even though he was the spiritual leader to millions of people, the Prince spent the majority of his life away from the limelight.
Some of Aga Khan’s followers believed he was a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. When his grandfather passed, he was named the successor over Aga Khan’s father.
Aga Khan was married twice; his first wife was British model Sally Croker-Poole. The two tied the knot in 1969 and welcomed three children, including Prince Rahim, who is expected to be his father’s successor.
After 25 years of marriage, Aga Khan and Croker-Poole divorced. He went on to marry Princess Gabrielle in 1998. The two welcomed a son but eventually divorced after 6 years.
At the time of his death, it is believed that Aga Khan was worth over £11 billion. As reported by The Sun, the spiritual leader, who has been labelled 'the world's most elusive billionaire, used most of his fortune for charitable reasons. Nonetheless, he owned a superyacht, the world’s biggest private jet, and an island in the Bahamas.
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Sources used:
The Independent: ‘King ‘deeply saddened’ over death of Queen Elizabeth's friend Aga Khan’
The Sun: ‘RICH LEGACY Aga Khan dead: ‘World’s most elusive billionaire’ & spiritual leader dies aged 88 as tributes pour in for racing mogul’
The Royal Central: ‘The Aga Khan – the man who made Queen Elizabeth II’s dreams come true’
AP News: ‘The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims and a philanthropist, dies at 88’
