he began pursuing a D.Phil. research degree in Middle East studies at the University of Oxford, which he successfully defended in February 2020. Prince Moulay Hicham's positions have often instigated outside pressures, including personal and financial threats, as well as smear campaigns in Morocco's state-run media sector. In August 2012, Moroccan MP Abdelhadi Khairat accused him of financial embezzlement, a charge that instigated a successful defamation lawsuit and Khairat's eventual apology for the allegations. In May 2014, the French police arrested an individual on stalking charges at Orly Airport, who in turn claimed that several Moroccans had asked him to monitor the prince's movements. In September 2017, he was controversially deported from Tunisia while scheduled to speak at an academic conference held by Stanford University for reasons suspected to be politically motivated. In November 2018, he won a major libel trial in the United Kingdom against the Arabic-language Elaph media outlet, which had published a story accusing him to have plotted against the Moroccan monarchy. That case was also notable in compelling British courts, in the wider context of UK law, to clarify and deepen the meaning of defamation within electronic publications. In July 2021, the prince was revealed to be one of the targets of the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware as deployed by the Moroccan intelligence services. Honours : Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry (26 March 1993). References External links Moulay Hicham Selected Writings (Official Website) Moulay Hicham Foundation for Social Research on North Africa and the Middle East 1964 births Living people Moroccan people of Lebanese descent Moroccan people of Arab descent Moroccan royalty Moroccan princes Alumni of Rabat American School Stanford University faculty Princeton University alumni Moroccan academics Moroccan businesspeople People from Rabat Alumni of the University of Oxford Grand Officers of the Order of Prince Henry Controversies in Morocco Lebanese people of Moroccan descent