Raad's paternal first cousin once removed was Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, who was killed at the age of 23 in a bloody coup d'état on 14 July 1958 (Crown Prince Abd-al-Illah was also killed). Following the revolution, Prince Zeid, Raad's father, was recognized as the Head of the Royal House of Iraq by his remaining agnatic co-heirs of Jordan. They continued to live in London, where the family resided during the coup, as Zeid was the Iraqi ambassador there.