Salma Bennani was just your typical Moroccan girl who studied computer science at university, met a guy at a party in 1999 and married him three years later. Only that guy was a prince destined to be the country’s reigning monarch, today’s King Mohammed VI – the fifth richest person in all Africa, according to Forbes in 2015. Now known as Princess Lalla Salma, she has had two children with King Mohammed: Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, 18, and Princess Lalla Khadija, 15. Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco and her son Moulay el Hassan, 2003. 🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/8Aj3TNr2fn — 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖡𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗒 𝖮𝖿 𝖬𝗈𝗋𝗈𝖼𝖼𝗈 (@MoroccoBeautyMB) September 30, 2021 But this modern fairy tale comes with a plot twist. Princess Lalla Salma was the first wife of a Moroccan royal to be given her own title, and often broke with tradition, seen publicly doing humanitarian work. But now she’s mysteriously disappeared. Where could she possibly be, and what may have happened to her? Here’s everything we know about Princess Lalla Salma … Before Meghan Markle: what happened to Prince Harry’s ex, Chelsy Davy? Modern princess As cliché as it may sound, Princess Lalla Salma wasn’t your typical wife to the king. The first wife of a Moroccan king to be given a royal title, she became officially known as Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Salma. #JustIn 🇲🇦 Her Royal Highness, Princess Lalla Salma went to the headquarters of the Lalla Salma foundation for the fight against cancer in Rabat. HRH would be expected in Laayoune for a visit to the new regional oncology center. (AlAyam24) (Archive Image © MAP) #Morocco #Maroc pic.twitter.com/mAfYUF5Pt4 — The Moroccan Index (@MoroccanIndex) November 17, 2020 Despite her royal status, humanitarian advocacy was where her heart was. In 2005, the princess founded the Lalla Salma Foundation to combat cancer, was made a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Health Organization, and has also worked to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids in Africa. Princess Lalla Salma was also a trailblazer for women at the court with her signature style of wearing trousers in public and abstaining from the use of a headscarf in a Muslim country. Divorce rumours Morocco’s official news agency puts out rare picture of King Mohammed VI with family after heart surgery (for arrhythmia). They don’t usually communicate that much and he had been out of the country for long stretches recently. pic.twitter.com/jIw2SJdGwW — arabist (@arabist) February 27, 2018 In 2018, the royal couple reportedly called it quits after 16 years of marriage. The rumour mill started to hum when the king had heart surgery in February in Paris after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia. The royal house of Morocco released a photograph after the operation, and while most of the Moroccan royal family was there to support, Princess Lalla Salma wasn’t. It has been widely noted that the princess hadn’t been seen much publicly towards the latter part of 2017. Spanish magazine Hola was among the first to ask questions, but the royal court has never confirmed or denied reports of a break-up. Meet Princess Caroline of Monaco’s daughter Charlotte Casiraghi Ghost princess For anyone who has lived their life in public for over a decade, not being seen for quite some time would definitely raise eyebrows. Princess Lalla Salma was not just a partner to King Mohammed VI, she has also represented her husband and Morocco at high-profile events including Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, and former US first lady Michelle Obama’s official visit to Morocco in 2016. Then she was gone. Adding to the mystery of it all is the lack of reporting or even speculation in the Moroccan media. There have been no verified reports on why and how the princess simply vanished from the public eye. Where is she now? “Waar is Lalla Salma?” In Marokko! De ‘verdwenen’ echtgenote van de Marokkaanse koning is na zo’n 15 maanden weer gezien. Samen met haar dochter is ze op het Djemaa el Fna-plein gespot, temidden van tal van beveiligers. pic.twitter.com/ynyjEaIjbu — Rick Evers (@RickEversRoyal) April 3, 2019 More than a year after international media began questioning her whereabouts, Princess Lalla Salma was photographed in April 2019 while having dinner with her daughter, Princess Khadija, at a traditional restaurant in Marrakech. A few days after that, Dutch site De Telegraaf reported that Princess Lalla Salma made an unofficial visit to the Oulad Mbarek Oncology Centre in Beni Mellal. Meet Hong Kong’s heiress ‘princess’ Alexandra von Furstenberg Princess Lalla Salma And Crown Prince Moulay Hassan Vacationing in Greece - Morocco World News https://t.co/ADgiLurzma — Greece news feed (@HellasNewsFeed) July 9, 2019 Then, in July 2019, the mum-of-two was seen taking a holiday with her firstborn, Prince Moulay Hassan, in Skiathos, Greece. That same month, King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Salma issued a joint denial of custody conflict in French celebrity magazine Gala , via their lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti. BREAKING: Her royal highness, Princess Lalla Salma accompanied by HRH the Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and HRH the Princess Lalla Khadija, seen near Central Park Manhattan, NewYork. © https://t.co/PbQfxIZ6eH #Morocco #Maroc #Afrique #Africa #المغرب #المغرب_العربي #NewYork #US pic.twitter.com/BzSyATms44 — The Moroccan Index (@MoroccanIndex) September 19, 2019 Finally, in September 2019, she was spotted in New York with her two children along with security guards near New York’s Central Park. Since then, however, there has been no news again of the princess’ whereabouts. What once was a fairy tale has become a mystery – where is Morocco’s Princess Lalla Salma now? Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .