Heir born to Moroccan throne

The new royal family is now complete

Princess Salma Bennani, wife of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, has given birth to a son, the royal palace has announced.

The baby boy, who is named Hassan after his grandfather Hassan II, is the couple's first child.

Under the Moroccan constitution, the boy will be the chief heir to the throne of the Moroccan kingdom, although King Mohammed can chose to ordain any future male child as his heir.

The infant's arrival was greeted by a 21-gun salute in the Moroccan royal palace.

To mark the birth the king ordered the release of more than 9,000 prisoners. It is not known whether any political activists were among them. The king also reduced the sentences of almost 40,000 other prisoners.

Prior to the birth, the country's capital, Rabat, was decorated with flowers, lights and posters of the king.

Public squares outside the capital have also been prepared for celebrations, AFP news agency reports.

Modern family

The king, who inherited the throne only hours after his father, King Hassan II, died in July 1999, married 24-year-old computer engineer Salma Bennani in a private ceremony in 2002.

The couple later held a lavish public ceremony to mark their nuptials, in which 200 other couples from around the country were invited to get married on the same day as the royal couple's celebrations.

In a break with tradition, the bride was given the title of "princess" whereas in the past the wives of kings were referred to only as "mother of the princes."

Many Moroccans have been pinning their hopes on their 39-year-old king and his new family, the BBC's Stephanie Irvine reports.

They have been hoping for a new era of openness, modernity and prosperity after the repressive reign of his father Hassan II.

However critics have been disappointed with what they say is a lack of real progress in the three years since Mohammed VI came to the throne, with little improvement in social conditions or democracy.