Holton-Arms School; a prestigious institution for girls located in the outskirts of Washington, was her alma mater. Casual meanders with companions through Northern Virginia’s Tysons Corner Center, marked her weekends. The residence of her parents hosted former US Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright, Colin L. Powell, and James A. Baker with regularity.
And now, Princess Reema Bandar al-Saud, aged 48 and daughter of the influential Prince Bandar bin Sultan; a prominent diplomat in Washington during his long service as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, has stepped into her father’s shoes.
The transition hasn’t been smooth sailing.
When she took on the mantle as the inaugural female occupant of this position in July 2019, the gruesome execution and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, at the hands of Saudi agents was less than a year in the past. Her daunting mission was to help restore the image of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom U.S. intelligence agencies suggested was implicated in the brutal killing of Mr. Khashoggi. By the onset of 2021, she was tasked with negotiating the political pendulum swing from the cordial relationship with the Trump administration to now dealing with the cold front presented by President Biden who had previously labeled the kingdom as a “pariah” during his 2019 campaign.
In the course of her challenging five-year tenure, both Saudi Arabia’s standing in Washington and her own have experienced a substantial shift. International events like Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and the necessity of Saudi support in oil markets have led to a delicate attempt at reconciliation between Mr. Biden and the crown prince, symbolized by a diplomatic fist-bump in Jeddah in the summer of 2022. With the backing of Saudi’s extensive lobbying and publicity machinery that runs into millions of dollars, Princess Reema has been a visible presence in this reluctant rapprochement.
