[8][9] After 37 years in office, Khalid was removed as Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler on June 14, 2003 by his father and replaced by his younger half-brother Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi.
[10] The removal of Sheikh Khalid as Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler caused unrest in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and was met with street protests.
[11] Media reports at the time speculated that Sheikh Khalid was removed, in part, due to his support for women's rights and his opposition to Iran and its controversial occupation of the Tunb Islands.
In 2003, he led a protest march of several hundred people through Ras-Al Khaimah that culminated with Khalid himself burning the American flag and allowed the local radio station to broadcast a consistently anti-US line.
"[14] Despite Skeikh Khalid's repeated claims on his personal website (www.sheikhkhalidrak.com) that he has in his possession a decree re-instating him as crown prince, such a document has never been officially recognized by the Government or Ras Al Khaimah or the United Arab Emirates.
For this reason, the official UAE informational website, www.uaeinteract.com lists Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi as Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ra's al-Khaimah.
"[18] The Guardian has revealed that Sheikh Khalid has spent in excess of US$3.7m (£2.6m) for a team of the U.S. and European security strategists, lawyers and lobbyists in order to wage a campaign to, in their own words, "undermine the current regime's standing" and to force the leadership of the UAE in Abu Dhabi, which has powerful influence over the emirate, to "make a change".
[20] According to published reports, now shown to have been funded by Khalid's lobbying team, Ras Al Khaimah has become a preferred port for Iranian smugglers to avoid customs and move nuclear materials – potentially for weapons – into Iran.
"[19] Published reports reveal that Khalid and his aides are attempting to destabilize the regime of his brother, Sheikh Saud, by creating international pressure through extensive lobbying in the US and Europe.
[23] Sheik Khalid has been criticized by the current regime in Ras Al Khaimah for political activities in the United States that raise awareness and document RAK's connection with Iran.
In addition, Sheikh Khalid hired Glenn Simpson, an ex-Wall Street Journal reporter with extensive experience in investigating how Islamic terrorism is financed.
[27] Sheikh Khalid has called for a clean, sustainable and independent energy future for Ras Al Khaimah and for increased educational opportunities, including a rapid expansion of international and cross-cultural student exchanges.
[29][30][31] These islands are of particularly strategic value because of their location at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage to the open ocean for most of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and through which 40 percent of the world's oil supply travels every year.