King Farouk (February 11, 1920 - March 18, 1965), the last king of the Egyptian kingdom and the last to rule Egypt from the Alawite dynasty. His rule lasted for sixteen years until he was overthrown by the Free Officers Organization in the July 23 revolution and forced him to abdicate to his son, Ahmed Fouad, who was six months old at the time, who was soon dismissed on June 18, 1953, by converting Egypt from a monarchy to a republic.
After his abdication, he lived in exile in Rome, and was visiting Switzerland and France, until he died in Rome on March 18, 1965 and was buried first in the Ibrahim Pasha tombs in the Imam Shafi’i area. King Farouk will.
His birth and upbringing
Farouk bin Fouad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Ali Pasha was born on February 11, 1920. A royal communiqué was issued announcing the birth of Prince Farouk in Abdeen Palace, and joy spread in the country and 21 cannon fires were fired, government and bank employees were granted leave, and Pardon some prisoners, and distribute alms to the poor.
Farouk was the eldest son of his parents, King Fouad I and Queen Nazli, and he has four sisters:
Princess Fawzia bint Fouad I
Princess Faiza bint Fouad I
Princess Faika, daughter of Fouad I
Princess Fathia bint Fouad I
He also had half-brothers from his stepmother, Princess Sheweh Kar, whom King Fouad divorced in 1898, and they are:
Prince Ismail bin Fouad I, who died in 1897 and was less than a year old at the time of his death.
Princess Fawkia bint Fouad I
King Farouk in his childhood
King Fouad took care of raising his son Farouk with an excessive degree of care, so he was surrounded by a narrow circle of those who dealt with him and that circle included his mother and sisters princesses in addition to the English governess (Miss Inna Taylor), and that governess was very strict in dealing with the little prince, and she was authoritarian So much so that she objected to the instructions of his mother, Queen Nazli, regarding Farouk's upbringing.
Farouk at that stage did not have any friends from the children of princes or pashas, which gave the opportunity to some residents of the palace to get close to the little prince and they did not refuse him a request in addition to that they were spoiling what the English nanny was doing and the instructions and directions she issued regarding the little prince.
Farouk became crown prince when he was young, and King Fouad named him "Prince of Upper Egypt" on December 12, 1933.
King Fouad the First would seize any opportunity to present the young prince to the people who would be their king.. So he took him with him on several occasions, the first of which was the Girl Guides’ party at Al-Ahly Club on April 7, 1932, and Farouk was 12 years old at the time. He also called him - due to the circumstances of his illness - to attend an official party that was held by the British Air Force on February 23, 1934, as well as at the opening of the International Postal Conference in 1934. Prince Farouk did well at the time in all the occasions he attended.
Britain was following the little prince and the developments of his life.. he is the future king who comes into direct contact with Italian culture through his father and through the Italian court residing in the palace and surrounding the little prince, which at the same time has an influence on the father king, especially the chief of the Italian court (Ersto Ferrucci) Palace architects. When Prince Farouk grew up a little, Britain began to request that he travel to Britain to learn at Eton College, which is the most prestigious college there. From behind this to alienate the young prince from the Italian culture that was permanently surrounding him.
When Prince Farouk reached the age of fourteen, Sir Miles Lampson repeated his request to King Fouad that Prince Farouk should travel to Britain. Farouk traveled to Britain, but without joining Eton College, but was enrolled in Welch College of Military Sciences. . Prince Farouk was accompanied during his travels by a mission accompanying him headed by Ahmed Hassanein Pasha to be his pioneer - and who had a great role in his life after that - in addition to Aziz Al-Masry who was deputy head of the mission and chief teacher in addition to Omar Fathi as a guard for the Prince and the chief of Al-Yawran later, as well as Dr. Abbas Al-Kafrawi as a private doctor and Saleh Hashem, a professor of Arabic language, in addition to Hussein Pasha Hosni as a private secretary. The presence of Ahmed Pasha Hassanein as an escort of the Emir on his journey was a catalyst for the Emir to set off, as it encouraged him to go to theaters and cinema, accompany women as well as play gambling, while Aziz was Al-Masry always objected to all these actions, and he was trying in every way to make Farouk a successful and qualified military man so that he would be a king capable of exercising his next role as King of Egypt. Farouk, of course, by virtue of the harsh and strict conditions of his upbringing, tended to Ahmed Pasha Hassanein and refused and rebelled against the instructions and orders of Aziz al-Masry. And it proceeded to prepare for what comes after that, and of course Britain was one of the most concerned political forces about the situation, so it proposed the formation of a guardianship council consisting of three members: Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq, who is the cousin of Prince Farouk, who was of English inclinations and always believed that he was more entitled to the throne of Egypt, and the second was Muhammad Tawfiq Naseem Pasha, the former prime minister, is a man of the palace, and the third is the Grand Imam, Sheikh Al-Maraghi. Then to complete his studies, but before Farouk traveled to Egypt to see his father, his father, King Fouad I, had met his Lord on April 28, 1936.
With the death of King Fouad, an important page in the modern history of Egypt began, after which a new page began in the history of the family of Muhammad Ali Pasha, founder of the Alawite dynasty. Prince Farouk returned to Egypt on May 6, 1936, the date that was later taken as the official date of his accession to the throne, and he was appointed king on The country succeeds his father, King Fouad I, according to the system of inheriting the throne of the Egyptian kingdom in the house of Muhammad Ali, which was established by King Fouad himself in agreement with the English.
The eighth article in the system of succession to the throne stipulates that “the king reaches the age of majority if he has completed eighteen lunar years.”
The ninth article also stipulated that: A minor king shall have a regency authority for the throne to assume the authority of the king until he reaches the age of majority.
Article 10 defines the method of forming the Trusteeship Council as follows:
“The Guardianship Board is composed of three people chosen by the King for the Crown Prince of the minor, with a document liberating from two originals, one of which is deposited at the King’s Court and the other at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The document is kept in a sealed envelope. The envelope is not opened, and the document is not announced until after his death and before Parliament.” An Egyptian Muslim and to choose from the following classes:
The princes of the royal family and their close in-laws.
Current and former Speakers of Parliament.
Ministers or those who hold ministerial positions.
The president and members of the Senate, as well as its former presidents, if the constitution stipulates the establishment of a Senate.
However, this choice shall not be implemented unless approved by Parliament.
Accordingly, the King’s duties were assigned to the Regency Council chosen by King Fouad before his death, and whose names King Fouad wrote in a document of duplicate copies, one of which was deposited in the Royal Court and the other in Parliament. The two documents were opened and verified in a parliamentary session on May 8, 1936, in which the Council of Guardians of the Throne was named:
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq, the eldest prince of the Alawite family, who became the crown prince as well and held this position until the birth of Farouk I’s son, Ahmed Fouad
Sherif Sabry Pasha (brother of Queen Nazli, uncle of King Farouk)
. Aziz Ezzat Pasha (then Minister of Foreign Affairs and was the first ambassador of Egypt to the United Kingdom)
Since assuming the throne, Dr. Hussein Pasha Hosni was appointed as his personal secretary until his abdication from the throne.
The guardianship period lasted for approximately one year and three months, as King Farouk completed 18 lunar years on 21 Jumada I 1356 AH corresponding to July 29, 1937 AD. Accordingly, he was officially crowned on that day as the official king of the country and assumed the throne alone without a guardianship council.
The whole Egyptian people received the young king with a wonderful reception stemming from the hearts of the Egyptians who loved the young king, and all hearts were sympathetic to him because of his young age and the death of his father while he was far from him and in a strange country.
Trying to complete the study
After Farouk returned to Egypt and the Guardianship Council assumed its duties, Prince Muhammad Ali asked Ahmed Hassanein (your) to prepare a study program for King Farouk in order to complete his studies that he did not complete abroad, provided that he would then provide him with periodic reports on the regularity of the progress of this study. Ahmed Hassanein (your) requested Hussain Pasha Husni assumed this responsibility, so he set out to develop the required study program jointly with Ahmed Hassanein (your), and Sir (Miles Lampson), the British High Commissioner, had nominated an English young man named Mr. Ford to teach English language arts, as well as to train the young prince in some games However, the young prince did not welcome the English man because he was a candidate from the British delegate.
Celebrating the enthronement of Farouk as king of Egypt
Dr. Hussein Hosni Pasha, the private secretary to King Farouk, mentions in his book (Years with King Farouk) about the celebration of King Farouk’s inauguration, saying: During it, the crowds who came to it from the farthest parts of the country and from abroad to participate in the celebration of the young king or simply to see his procession to go to Parliament and to perform prayers or to attend the military parade or to adorn the decorations that were erected in the streets and squares and on public and private buildings, as the palace witnessed in it what it did not witness from Before the crowd overflowed its sides and the sides of the great pavilion erected in its courtyard to receive the well-wishers on the day of ceremonies, which lasted two hours longer than was intended, during which the King remained on his feet to shake hands with each of the well-wishers, which made him ask for a short period of rest. Crowds of different groups and organizations were invited to the tea party that was held in the palace garden on the last day of the parties, and the king moved between different tables to greet the invitees before taking his place at the big table among them. D was completely happy with the new conquest at his hand in the traditions of the palace and the manifestations that the people surrounded him with and responded to.
The title of King of Egypt and Sudan
The end of the British protection over Egypt was announced following the statement of February 28, 1922, and Egypt turned into a kingdom, and the country's first constitution was drawn up in 1923 following that independence. Despite the termination of the protection, Britain retained four features:
England's right to secure the transportation of her empire in Egypt
England's right to defend Egypt against any foreign aggression or interference
Protection of foreign interests and minorities
England's right to act in Sudan
Sudan’s special status in the decision to end the British protectorate over Egypt did not allow King Fouad to be called King of Egypt and Sudan, as an explicit text was placed in the constitution in the chapter on transitional provisions clarifying that the title of King Fuad is determined by the British end of determining the status of Sudan. Then he was called His Majesty King Fouad I - King of Egypt and master of Nubia, Kordofan and Darfur, and successive Egyptian governments entered into negotiations with Britain for the evacuation. Under the previous concessions, the British army was present in many parts of Egypt and Sudan. In 1936, Egypt signed the Treaty of Friendship with Britain, and its provisions included limiting the presence of the British army to the Canal area only while reducing the number of soldiers to 10,000 soldiers, as well as the right of the British army to fly over the Canal area, as well as the right of Egypt to establish a regular army (the Egyptian army had been demobilized In 1882, by a decision of Khedive Tawfiq, following the British occupation of Egypt). The agreement also stipulated that this situation would be reviewed after 20 years to show the extent of the Egyptian army’s ability to maintain the safety of navigation in the Suez Canal. The treaty also included a clause requiring the return of the Egyptian army to Sudan and recognition of joint administration with Britain. The treaty gave Egypt the right to demand the abolition of foreign privileges and freedom In concluding political treaties with foreign countries, canceling the February 28 statement with his four reservations, and exchanging ambassadors with Great Britain. After the death of King Fuad in 1936, King Farouk assumed the throne of Egypt, and his title when he took the throne was the King of Egypt and the owner of Sudan, Kordofan and Darfur, not the King of Egypt and Sudan. The Second World War delayed the implementation of the provisions of Treaty 36. After its conclusion, the English forces began to withdraw to the Canal cities under the agreement. The main concern of the Egyptian governments at that time was to achieve complete and unconditional evacuation, so they entered into another series of negotiations with the aim of amending the terms of the 1936 treaty and adding improvements to the gains they had achieved. However, the negotiations failed due to Britain’s adherence to giving Sudan the right to self-determination in return for the evacuation from Egypt, which prompted the government of Mustafa Nahhas Pasha and Parliament to cancel the 1936 Treaty on October 15, 1951, and as a result of this cancellation, the state of armed struggle against the British army forces present in the Canal was announced, as well. Sudan was annexed to Egyptian sovereignty and King Farouk was called "King of Egypt and Sudan". Many countries of the world did not recognize this title, and the conflict with England ignited, then events escalated internally. After this announcement, Egypt entered a wave of chaos, with an “unknown actor,” from sectarian strife to fires, demonstrations, curfews and martial law. Then the events developed and reached their climax. The Free Officers Movement on July 26th issued an ultimatum to King Farouk asking him to leave the country and abdicate his throne to Crown Prince Ahmed Fouad, and the rule of the delegation and the king fell.
Incident of February 4, 1942
On February 4, 1942, the British forces surrounded him at Abdeen Palace, and the British ambassador in Cairo, Sir Miles Lampson, forced him to sign a decree calling for the leader of the Wafd Party, Mustafa al-Nahhas, to form a government alone, or to abdicate the throne.
That incident had occurred during the Second World War, and the German forces led by Erwin Rommel were present in El Alamein, and the military situation was fraught with dangerous possibilities for Egypt and to follow the constitutional tradition of forming a ministry that the majority of the people would accept and that could tighten the grip of the internal situation, so the British ambassador asked him to form a ministry It is keen to be loyal to the 1936 Treaty, in letter and spirit capable of implementing it and enjoying the support of the majority of public opinion, and that this be done no later than February 3, 1942. Therefore, the king summoned the leaders of political parties in an attempt to form a national or coalition ministry, and all of them, except for Mustafa al-Nahhas, were supporters of the idea of a coalition ministry. headed by him. It prevents the Wafd Party from ruling alone, especially since they have a majority in Parliament. The United Kingdom asked its ambassador, Sir Miles Lampson, to wave the use of force before the king. On the morning of February 4, 1942, the ambassador asked to meet with the chief of the royal court, Ahmed Hassanein Pasha, and handed him an ultimatum to the king in which he threatened to If he did not know before six o'clock in the evening that Mustafa al-Nahhas had been assigned to form the government, then he must bear the consequences of what is happening. He has been fascinated by him for many years, and he is the oldest member of the Muhammad Ali family, but the leader of the Wafd Party, Mustafa al-Nahhas, refused the warning. On the evening of this day, February 4, 1942, the ambassador, along with the commander of the British forces in Egypt, General Stone, and with them a number of armed British officers, surrounded Abdeen Palace with British tanks and soldiers, and entered the King’s office. In the document, he wrote:
Farouk the First We, Farouk the First, King of Egypt, in appreciation of the interests of our country, here we abdicate the throne and give up any right to it for ourselves and our offspring, and give up all the rights, privileges and powers that we had by virtue of sitting on the throne, and here we also dissolve our subjects from the oath of loyalty to our person.
Issued in Abdeen Palace on this fourth day of February 1942.
Sir Lampson says that when he put the waiver document before the king, he hesitated for a second, and he felt for a moment that the king would take the pen and sign, but the chief of the royal court, Ahmed Hassanein Pasha, intervened in Arabic and said something to him, then the king stopped and asked "Lampson" for another opportunity to summon Mustafa al-Nahhas. Immediately and in his presence, if he wanted, and to assign him within hearing to form the cabinet, and Lampson asked him if he understood clearly that the cabinet should be the choice of copper alone? He said that he understood, and Sir Lampson told him that he was ready to give him one last chance because he wanted to spare Egypt complications that might not be easy in these circumstances, but he had to realize that his action must be immediate, and he replied again that he understood that the necessities of his preservation On his honor and in the interest of his country, he should summon the copper immediately.
The revolution of July 23, 1952, the Free Officers and the end of the Egyptian monarchy
Farouk's rule lasted for sixteen years until the July 23, 1952 revolution forced him to abdicate to his son, Ahmed Fouad, who was six months old. The same yacht on which his grandfather, Khedive Ismail, left when he was dismissed from power. The officers paid the military salute and the artillery fired twenty-one rounds to salute King Farouk when he bid farewell. In his farewell was Major General Muhammad Naguib and members of the Free Officers Movement, who had decided to be satisfied with his removal and exile from Egypt, while some of them wanted to try and execute him, as other revolutions with their kings did.
abdication of the throne
He demanded that he preserve his dignity in the document of abdication, so Ali Maher Pasha reassured him and mentioned to him that it would be similar to the document in which the King of Belgium abdicated his throne. So the document was prepared and presented to Muhammad Najib, who agreed to it, and Jamal Salem suggested adding the phrase (and down to the will of the people) on the wording of the document. Suleiman Hafez was assigned to carry the document and sign it from the king. A phrase and according to the will of the people, but I understand him that the drafting of the document in the form of a royal order has this meaning, and that it was done with great difficulty and does not allow any modification, and he was at that time in a bad nervous state.
his life in exile
Some believe that he lived a life of extravagance and sleeplessness in his exile, and that he had many mistresses, including the British writer Barbara Skelton. While his divorcee Queen Farida, as well as his daughter Princess Faryal, said that he did not have much after he left Egypt after the July revolution. Eyewitnesses proved in the court held by the revolution to try his entourage and aides after his departure from Egypt, that he carried with him to Italy 22 bags containing his clothes, his wife, Nariman, and the clothes of young princesses, in addition to the amount of 5000 Egyptian pounds, knowing that his bank account in Switzerland had 20 thousand pounds. After less than two years in exile, Queen Nariman asked for a divorce from him and traveled to Egypt without his permission, and the Egyptian government gave her permission to do so. The divorce was announced before the Civil Status Court and in the official newspapers. He then requested to be a guest of the Principality of Monaco, where he lived most of the years of exile, and Prince Rainier granted him Monaco citizenship and a diplomatic passport in 1960, five years before his death. His eldest daughter, Princess Feryal, revealed in a television program with MBC in September of 2007 that her father was receiving annual financial subsidies from the Saudi royal family due to the friendship that she had with the kingdom's founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud.
his death
How did King Farouk die?
He died on the night of March 18, 1965, at half past one in the morning, after eating a hearty dinner in the famous “Ile de France Restaurant” in Rome. After the governor of Cairo, who was working as a waiter in the same restaurant commissioned by the political leadership, which was afraid that the rumor of his return to Egypt would come true, and this was denied by Ibrahim Al-Baghdadi. That night he ate alone a dozen oysters and lobsters, two slices of veal with French fries and a large amount of cake filled with jam and fruit, then he felt shortness of breath and redness in the face and put his hand in his throat, and the ambulance took him to the hospital and Italian doctors decided that a fat man like him He suffers from high blood pressure and narrowed arteries that food must kill him.
The arrival of the body of King Farouk to Egypt - Al-Ahram newspaper - March 31, 1965
In her meeting with Dream Channel, Princess Feryal narrated that he was killed after being exposed to a poison that causes cardiac arrest and that the autopsy would not have proven anything, while Khurshid’s adoption in her memoirs recounted Salah Nasr’s confession to her of planning the killing, but no official investigations were conducted into this, and the King’s family refused an autopsy His body is certain that he died of satiety.
His first burial place, then his body was transferred to Al-Rifai Mosque
King Farouk's will was to be buried in Egypt, specifically in the Al-Rifa'i Mosque. The late President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to respond to the family's request to implement the will of the late king.. So preparations were made for his burial in Rome. After great insistence, Gamal Abdel Nasser responded to the mediation of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and agreed to be buried in Egypt, but stipulated that he not be buried in the cemeteries of Al-Rifai Mosque. In the middle of the night of March 31, 1965, the body of King Farouk arrived in Egypt and was buried very discreetly in Hosh Al-Basha, where the cemetery of his grandfather Ibrahim Muhammad Ali Pasha is in the Imam Shafi’i area.
In the 1970s, President Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat agreed to the family's request and allowed the transfer of King Farouk's remains to the Al-Rifa'i Mosque.
0 Comments