Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, 34, stood with his arms folded and showed no emotion as he was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years in jail.
After he serves his jail term, al Saud will probably be offered asylum because homosexuality is punishable by execution in Saudi Arabia.
The prince killed 32-year-old Bandar Abdulaziz in a brutal assault with a 'sexual element' at their five-star hotel in central London in February.
It was the culmination of a campaign of 'sadistic' abuse including a previous 'nasty' assault in a hotel lift weeks before.
Before the violence: Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud with his servant Bandar Abdulaziz share a cocktail during their fateful stay in London
Saud, a member of one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful families, did not flinch as the judge described the injuries he had inflicted on the 'subservient' Mr Abdulaziz.
The judge said: 'I cannot be sure that you intended to kill your victim. I think the most likely explanation is that you could not care less whether you killed him or not.'
Saud, shaven-headed and wearing a black top, was watched from the public gallery by his father Prince Abdulaziz, looking ashen-faced and glancing between his son in the dock and the judge passing sentence.
An Old Bailey jury heard how the prince bit his victim hard on both cheeks during his murderous attack at their suite in the Landmark hotel in Marylebone.
Saud was fuelled by champagne and Sex on the Beach cocktails when he began the ferocious beating after a Valentine's Day night out.
He was found guilty of murder as well as a second count of grievous bodily harm with intent relating to the attack in the lift.
If he ever returns to his home country, Saud faces the possibility of execution because being gay is a capital offence there, and he could seek asylum in Britain when he is eventually released.
The judge said: 'It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge. But your trial has proceeded in just the same way as anyone else's would in this court.
'No one in this country is above the law. It would be wrong for me to sentence you either more severely or more leniently because of your membership of the royal family in Saudi Arabia.
'You killed Bandar in the course of a sustained and ferocious assault. You were in a position of domination over him, as demonstrated both by the lift incident and by the sexually explicit photographs you took of him, at some point prior to February 15, which were found on your mobile phone.
'Bandar was a vulnerable victim, entirely subjugated to your will. You were in a position of authority and trust over him which you exploited ruthlessly.
'Whether or not your relationship with him had involved sexual intercourse as well makes no difference to sentence in this case.'
Saud's initial claim that the aide's injuries were caused by a mugging were exposed after police discovered CCTV footage of the lift attack on January 22.
The judge said: 'The most chilling aspect of that footage is that your victim did not resist at all.
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