90-year-old Saudi man remarries to fulfil deceased wife`s wish

Dubai: A 90-year-old Saudi man was "forced" to marry a bride almost 40 years his junior, after his children insisted that he honour their mother`s dying wish.

The bride, 53, was selected by Fatees Al Thaqafi`s five daughters, who spent three months looking for the right wife for their father, the Gulf News reported on . The daughters rejected any "young woman" and looked for a mature woman who would be right for their father. They eventually found a childless widow in a remote village who accepted the marriage proposal. Al Thaqafi initially refused to remarry after his wife died earlier this year following a long illness. The couple had seven sons and five daughters. Even though his sick wife told him he should have a second wife, he refused and instead looked after her, the report said. A large number of relatives and friends attended the marriage ceremony in Taef in western Saudi Arabia. "Emotions of happiness for our father mixed with strong feelings about our dead mother. We pray for our mother and wish our father contentment and success in his new life," Abdullah, the groom`s eldest son, said after the ceremony.