| Ahmad Shah Khan | |
| Birth Date: | 23 September 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Arg-i-Shahi, Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Death Place: | Virginia, U.S. |
| Father: | Mohammad Zahir Shah |
| Mother: | Humaira Begum |
| Succession: | Head of House of Barakzai |
| Reign: | 23 July 2007 – 4 June 2024 |
| Reign-Type: | Tenure |
| Predecessor: | Mohammad Zahir Shah |
| Successor: | Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan |
| Succession1: | Crown Prince of Afghanistan |
| Reign1: | 26 November 1942 – 17 July 1973 |
| Reign-Type1: | Tenure |
| Predecessor1: | Muhammed Akbar Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan |
| Successor1: | Monarchy abolished |
| Issue: | Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan Prince Muhammad Emel Khan Princess Hawa Khanum |
| House: | Barakzai |
| Religion: | Sunni Islam |
| Royal Name: | Ahmad Shah |
| Dipstyle: | His Royal Highness |
| Offstyle: | Your Highness |
Ahmad Shah, Crown Prince of Afghanistan (Dari/Pashto/Persian: احمد شاه خان; 23 September 1934 – 4 June 2024) was the second son of Mohammad Zahir Shah, the overthrown King of Afghanistan. He held the title of Head of the House of Barakzai from his father's death in July 2007, until his death in June 2024.
At the time of his birth he was second in the line of succession to the throne after his older brother Muhammed Akbar Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan. However, following the death of his brother on 26 November 1942, he became the heir apparent and Crown Prince.
He was educated first at Esteqlal High School, and College of Military Science, in Kabul.
Later he attended the University of Oxford, the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (IEP) and spent time working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.
His father's reign ended on 17 July 1973, when he was ousted by a coup with Afghanistan being declared a republic by Mohammad Daoud Khan, a member of the royal family. The Crown Prince was one of fourteen members of the royal family arrested following the coup. He was allowed to leave the country for Rome on 26 July.[1] Following the overthrow of the monarchy, the Crown Prince settled in the U.S. state of Virginia and took to writing poetry.[2]
He died on 4 June 2024, at the age of 89. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving male heir of the last reigning King of Afghanistan.[3]
He was married at Chilstoon Palace in Kabul on 22 November 1961 to Princess Khatul Begum (born 1940), daughter of Sardar Muhammad Umar Khan Zikeria, by his wife, Princess Sultana Begum, fourth daughter of Mohammed Nadir Shah, former King of Afghanistan (d. 1933). He had two sons and one daughter: