HIS SERENE HIGHNESS PRINCE ALY KHAN
Very little has been written about the military career of this flamboyant and internationally famous member of the regiment. Born in 1911, Prince Aly Khan, son of Aga Khan, the leader of the Ismaili Muslims, joined the French Foreign Legion in 1939 and was immediately posted to Beirut. In late 1940, disillusioned with the Vichy French, he like many other Frenchmen crossed the border into Palestine; the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry war diary records Aly Khan coming onto regimental strength in November. He was already well known to some of the aristocratic yeomanry officers, including Lord Weymouth and Earl Cadogan.
However, Aly Khan didn’t spend much time at regimental duty as military intelligence in Cairo soon heard about his recruitment, his knowledge of Syria and its people, and his fluency in multiple languages. He went on to serve as a liaison officer with the US Army and ended the war as a respected lieutenant colonel. In later life the prince would say that his time spent as a soldier was some of his happiest.