On July 2, 2019, the third largest principality of the United Arab Emirates, the State of Sharjah, was the 80th birthday of King Sultan at this time, but at this time, the old king was immersed in grief.
Just the day before, his only remaining son, Prince Khalid, died suddenly in a London mansion due to a drug overdose and excessive indulgence.
The king of Jackie Chan
In 1972, Sultan became King of Sharjah, and the first thing he did after taking the throne was to study in England.
As the leader of a country, Sultan is not "gold-plated" in the ordinary sense, he has studied at the University of Exeter and the University of Durham, and has also obtained different doctorates from two universities, which is a veritable master.
Sultan was so impressed by his study abroad experience in the UK that he soon decided to send them to England for education after having children of his own.
At this time, his eldest son Mohammed was 12 years old, while his younger son Khalid was only 9 years old.
Sultan hoped that his son, after receiving a top British education, would become a ruler as capable as himself for the benefit of the nation of Sharjah.
In order to make the lives of his beloved two princes worry-free, Sultan specially spent 3 million pounds to buy a villa in London's rich district.
However, Sultan forgot that London is not only a collection of the world's top educational resources, but also a metropolis wrapped in paper drunken gold fans.
Muhammad, although the eldest son, was born to Sultan 's ex-wife, so he has no inheritance rights, lacks maternal love since childhood, and is in a marginal position in the family, he has a solitary and sensitive personality.
Although his father had high hopes for his two sons, Muhammad had no goals, he had no throne to inherit, and no one expected anything from him.
If in the country of Sharjah, Muhammad might become an ordinary prince, but he is in London.
And what's even more cruel is that he has too much money, the kind that he can't spend.
What is life like for oil princes in London?
"At the parties of the princes of the Middle East, there is endless expensive champagne and all kinds of dangerous narcotic drugs. They would always take a lot of drugs to keep the party going. ”
This is the words of a woman who has attended Middle Eastern princes' parties many times, and women like her spend £350 per hour of appearance alone, not to mention that they are paying for the whole party from the beginning to the end.
Muhammad's life was like that, skipping class to go to bars, to drag racing, to indulge in gentle country.
Even these ordinary entertainment projects could not please him, and he became addicted to drugs and indulged in the illusory world of drugs all day.
An inextricable fate
Sultan certainly couldn't watch his children be destroyed by drugs like this, and in 1995, Mohammed was sent to a British drug rehabilitation center, after which he was brought back to the Middle East to get Mohammed back on track.
However, all this did not save Muhammad.
In 1999, shortly after returning to London with his family, Mohammed was found dead on the bathroom floor due to a drug overdose.
At this time, Muhammad was only 24 years old, and he had a background that ordinary people envied, but his life was so short.
Mohammed's death made Sultan question his decision to send his two children to London.
But his second son, Khalid, was too good to trust in him to overcome his worries about life in London.
Khalid is the complete opposite of Muhammad, although he is the only crown prince, but he is not discouraged from enterprising, but like his father Sultan, he is diligent and studious.
Khalid studied fashion design at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and after graduating, he founded his own brand, Qasimi.
His business has been running very well, not only designing clothes that have appeared at fashion weeks many times, but even opening more than 50 stores around the world.
In addition to excelling academically and professionally, Khalid is also passionate about social causes, especially the lives of refugees.
"He's a good guy, strong and fair."
The employees of Khalid Company praised the boss even more.
When his brother Muhammad died, the 19-year-old Khalid was so frightened that he did not dare to go near his brother's house for a long time, and because of Muhammad's tragic experience, Sultan educated Khalid strictly, so as not to contaminate him.
But alas, the excellent Khalid failed his father's expectations, and twenty years later, he also followed in the footsteps of his brother Muhammad.
On July 1, Khalid was found dead by a cleaning lady, and police subsequently found a large amount of Class A drugs in his house, and an autopsy later showed that his blood contained more than 300 milligrams of drugs.
The curse of money
Why do two princes with completely opposite life trajectories have the same ending?
"I'm too Westernized to fit into the Middle East, and too Middle Eastern to fit into the West."
This is an interview in which Khalid described his situation.
The country of Sharjah, where he was born, has extremely strict laws.
In Sharjah, only people with a government liquor license (usually non-Muslims) can drink alcohol at home, the sale and consumption of alcoholic products in public are prohibited, smoking in public is prohibited in addition to alcohol, and even tobacco advertising of any kind is not allowed.
Because of these strict regulations, Sharjah has also been named "the healthiest city in the world" by the World Health Organization.
London, compared to Sharjah, is at the other extreme, here, alcohol is the most common drink, as long as you have money, you can get the most extreme enjoyment, those illegal things in Sharjah can be done freely.
Born in Sharjah, Khalid grew up with a completely Western model, and he did not agree with Sharjah's conservatism and was ostracized by Western society.
Floating in London like a rootless ping, the success of his career can only amplify the loneliness in his heart, and the only person who shares a common language with him is the oil prince of the Middle East with the same background, and the only thing they can have is the life of a drunken gold fan.
After hearing of Khalid's death, the grieving old king Sultan posted a photo of Khalid as a child online.
The Khalid in the photo is cute and lively, like all children in the world.
Sending a white-haired man to a black-haired man may be one of the most tragic things in his life for the elderly Sultan yet, however, it is not uncommon for the Arab world.
Just in 2019, 33-year-old Rashid, the Grand Prince of Dubai and the eldest son of the UAE Prime Minister, died of a heart attack, and while he was alive, he not only abused steroids, but also used drugs for many years.
"They can shop in Harolds, have fun in bars around Hyde Park, drive around in a supercar... A party in London never closes for Playboys, until one point, when it's too late. ”
The comments of the foreign press summarize the daily life of these princes with great wealth, which sacrifices their young lives in the context of cultures colliding all over the world.