The Abdeen Palace Incident was a military confrontation that took place on 4 February 1942 at

Abdeen Palace Abdeen Palace ( ar, قصر عابدين) is a historic Cairo palace built as one of the official residences for the former ruling monarchy and royal family of Egypt. It is now one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the Pr ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, and almost resulted in the forced

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

King Farouk I Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

. It is considered a landmark in the

history of Egypt The history of Egypt has been long and wealthy, due to the flow of the Nile River with its fertile banks and delta, as well as the accomplishments of Egypt's native inhabitants and outside influence. Much of Egypt's ancient history was a myste ...

. Following a ministerial crisis in February 1942, the British government, through its ambassador in Egypt, Sir

Miles Lampson Miles Wedderburn Lampson, 1st Baron Killearn, (24 August 1880 – 18 September 1964) was a British diplomat. Background and education Miles Lampson was the son of Norman Lampson, and grandson of Sir Curtis Lampson, 1st Baronet. His mother ...

, pressed Farouk to have a Wafd or Wafd-coalition government replace Hussein Sirri Pasha's government. This reversal of long-standing opposition to the Wafd came from the British belief that the Wafd, still the most popular of the Egyptian political parties, would be more effective in gaining public support in Egypt for the British

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...

than any of the other parties. It was also hoped that a Wafd government would weaken the influence of the pro- Axis elements around King Farouk. Lampson eventually decided to force this choice on Farouk by insisting that he abdicate unless he agreed to ask the Wafd leader,

Mustafa el-Nahhas Mostafa el-Nahhas Pasha or Mostafa Nahas ( ar, مصطفى النحاس باشا; June 15, 1879 – August 23, 1965) was an Egyptian politician who served as the Prime Minister for five terms. Early life, education and exile He was born in ...

, to form a government. Lampson sought and finally gained the support of

Oliver Lyttelton Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, ed ...

in the British cabinet to apply pressure on the Egyptian King. On the night of 4 February 1942, General Robert Stone surrounded

with troops and tanks, and Lampson presented Farouk with an

decree drafted by Sir

Walter Monckton Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician. Early years Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper m ...

. Farouk capitulated, and Nahhas formed a government shortly thereafter. However, the humiliation meted out to Farouk and the actions of the Wafd in cooperating with the British and taking power, lost support for both the British and the Wafd among both civilians and, more importantly, the

Egyptian military The Egyptian Armed Forces ( arz, القُوّات المُسَلَّحَة المِصْرِيَّة, alquwwat almusalahat almisria) are the military forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They consist of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptia ...

. In his memoirs, Muhammad Naguib, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, cited the incident as a major factor in the rise of revolutionary, anti-monarchical sentiment in the country that contributed to the revolution 10 years later.

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* * * * 1942 in Egypt Military history of Cairo History of Egypt (1900–present) Egypt in World War II Egypt–United Kingdom relations Farouk of Egypt Downtown Cairo World War II sites in Egypt 1940s in Cairo 1942 in military history 1942 in politics February 1942 events {{Egypt-hist-stub

See also

References

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